SXSW Six Pack: Feral Future
By PT Stinson
Photo by Steven Michael Ruud
Punk rock that throws rocks at cathedrals with graceful brute force. Welcome to Austin’s Feral Future. Those punk rock boys who stand for nothing don’t stand a chance against these four women.
Alternating notes of seduction and destruction, Feral Future singer/yeller-in chief Relle Sonnenschein’s linguistic power is every bit as detailed as it is direct.
Vulnerable and often times furious, the songs are sharpened further by construction and pacing, drawing listeners in before spitting them back out.
This isn’t railing against the establishment for the sake of checking a box on the punk rock to-do list –this more like railing against those on a shit-list and setting the record straight.
Lauded in the local music press for early 2014’s Haematic on Western Medical Records, live, the band’s power is unnerving a little overwhelming –such are the songs, artful and often times physical in their delivery, making the most of every second on stage.
The song “XOKO” –kiss-off, knocked out is probably the best translation– is a blistering three minutes of taking a jackass to task for choosing a bottle over her; another song critiques the self-importance of a local music scene institution; yet another takes on the hollow stance of punk rock boys: “what do you fight for? Nothing/what do you stand for? Nothing.”
What does Feral Future stand for?
Plenty, particularly when it comes to issues of equality for the LGBT communities, also taking on the subjects of rape, abuse and gender. Anyone catching their SXSW shows, including the She Shreds (Magazine) day party at Cheer Up Charlie’s or anywhere else could figure that out.
“Bet you taste sweet like sugar should,” begins ‘No Means Nothing’ –a sweet line, offered in advance of its boiling point: … “Your eyes are darting all over my face/I’ve got my wolf pack– they’ve got my back/ These girls are tougher than your feeble attacks/no means something to us/no means nothing …”
This is punk on a very broad stage, crunchy, dissonant, skillfully melodic and distorted, written as short stories, written when pushed to the edge, unrelenting, charismatic and catchy.
A new album is in the works, showing all the signs of a strong band growing stronger, a fountain of songs from a powerful fountain pen.
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