Brooklyn post-punks Weeping Icon have released their first new music since their 2019 self-titled debut, in the form of single "Pigs, Shit & Trash." It's on their upcoming Ocelli EP, which is due November 18 via Fire Talk. The EP was recorded and mixed by Ben Greenberg and mastered by Sarah Register.
"Pigs, Shit & Trash" makes a loud and incisive comment on capitalism and the government, accompanied by a satirical and nihilistic music video directed by Alice Millar. The song's hook recalls former Vice President Mike Pence's encounter with a fly during an electoral debate, with cutting lyric, "Flies are attracted to pigs, shit, and trash." It was written in summer 2020, early in the pandemic and in the midst of social and political turmoil. Bandmate Lani Combier-Kapel explains:
I was in NYC, where I was born and raised, and where my family still lives. As I watched transplants sneak away to their isolated farms or country houses, I was trapped in a crowded 4 bedroom apartment. Surrounded by death, I was confused, terrified for my aging parents’ health, and looking for any semblance of hope that things could turn around. Around that same time, uprisings and protests for Black Lives Matter were happening every day in NYC – I had good friends who were beaten by police officers and jailed for standing up for what was right. It became blatantly obvious that the government simply wasn't working for the people and had no clue how to help. These government officials just feel so untouchable – like we can meme them and make jokes about them but at the end of the day, they get to go home to their wives and million dollar mansions and live in their own bubble, not be bothered by the troubles of the world that they created.
When the electoral debates came around, I thought it was very fitting that a fly landed on top of Mike Pence’s head, right when he was talking some bullshit about race in America. I loved that moment, that this fly just randomly shat and vomited on this guy's head (as flies are known to do to everything they land on). I started imagining this fly as some kind of antihero, claiming one tiny bit of revenge on national TV – a heroic villain attracted to pigs, shit, and trash.
Watch the music video for "Pigs, Shit & Trash," and check out the cover art and tracklist for the Ocelli EP, below.
Weeping Icon Ocelli EP
Ocelli: 1) Two Ways 2) (everything has eyes) 3) Pigs, Shit & Trash
