Violent Soho toured with Faker and Grafton Primary in May 2008, playing songs from their first full length album We Don't Belong Here, which was released on 7 June 2008 on the Emergency Music label. Following the release they toured all around Australia, then played shows in London, New York and Los Angeles in November 2008 before returning home to play more shows and summer festivals, such as Homebake, The Meredith Music Festival, Falls Festival and Southbound Festival.
On 20 February 2009, Violent Soho announced on their MySpace page that they had signed an "overwhelmingly exciting" deal with Ecstatic Peace! Records, a record company headed by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, a hero of the band. They also signaled their intention to spend much of 2009 touring Australia, touring and recording in the US, and mentioned that a new album that "elaborated" on the material recorded for We Don't Belong Here was due for worldwide release in the third quarter of 2009. On 19 December 2009, the band announced that they would release a limited-edition EP containing re-recorded versions of "Bombs Over Broadway" and "Son of Sam", which would initially only be for sale at US tour dates.
The band would later part ways with Moore's label and in 2013 Boerdam stated:
Being on Thurston Moore's label doesn't happen that often for an Australian band. It gave us a great sense of validation as a band. Just being able to quit your day job and tour for 18 months made us better. Whether it results in Facebook likes or record sales I don't care, the real impact was more personal.
On 9 March 2010, Violent Soho released a second, self-titled album on Ecstatic Peace! The album was produced by Gil Norton, who previously worked with the Pixies, and the single "Jesus Stole My Girlfriend" was released from it.
Violent Soho performed at the 2011 Laneway Festival, followed by an Australian tour supporting Australian alternative rock band Jebediah in mid-2011. The band was then chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England, UK.
The band toured with English band Arctic Monkeys in early 2012 during the same period that the band members returned to Australia. Violent Soho was nominated for an ARIA Award that year and Tidswell revealed in an October 2013 interview that he received congratulations from friends while on his way to seek employment at a local McDonalds store, as the band was no longer signed to a label and was without any financial support at the time.
The band then signed to the Melbourne-based Australian independent record label "I Oh You" and released a new single called "Tinderbox" on 27 August 2012. In November 2012, an Australian tour coincided with the release of the double-single "Tinderbox"/"Neighbour Neighbour".
In April 2013, the band revealed via their Facebook account that they were in the process of recording their next full-length album. The album was produced by Brisbane producer Bryce Moorhead and recorded at Moorhead's Shed Studios.
In July 2013, Violent Soho announced that their next album is entitled Hungry Ghost and will be released on the I Oh You label on 6 September 2013—the first single, "In The Aisle", was released on 8 July 2013. Regarding the sound of the album, Boerdam asserted in an October 2013 interview: "There's no reason to lock the band down to that grunge label which we were constantly given, despite us never using that word. We realised that we didn't care, as long as we were happy with the music we were making."
A video for the song "In The Aisle" was released on 16 July 2013. Directed by Tristan Houghton, the video documents a nude cyclist riding around Brisbane distributing flyers for a nude bike ride event. A video for the song "Covered In Chrome", filmed in bass player Luke Henery's house, was released on 16 October 2013. Ideas and imagery in the lyrics for the song were informed by a Wikipedia article about the Hungarian uprising in 1956 which vocalist and guitarist Luke Boerdom had been reading.
The album title was inspired by the book "Culture Jam" by Kalle Lasn. As Luke Boerdom explained in a September 2013 online article, "From memory the term went something like this: “We sit around on couches, buying what we think makes us who we are, like a hungry ghost”. I looked up hungry ghost and it actually comes from traditional Chinese Buddhism. It means to have a non-shakable addiction/desire, and you lose yourself to that desire, you lose your identity." Regarding the general themes of the album's lyrics, Boerdom said: "Throughout the record I play with the idea of escaping a masked reality. I like to explore this concept that we live in a form of hyper-consumer reality and we lack an authentic human experience. In a few songs I try and focus on outsider suburban characters that are usually hidden and outcast by society, reenacting tapping into their reality and what they view as normal."
Dope Calypso
Violent Soho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a little bit of action
They don't build the world this way
It's alright
She lied
With the face of Cleopatra
The world ain't built this way
Now
I'm gonna go outside
Nothings gonna save us
Nothings gonna save us
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
That's alright
Wise
Like three men they never got it
They'll keep death staring me down
I'm alright
Safe
So safe they never asked us
The world ain't built this way
It's alright
Now
I'm gonna go outside
Nothings gonna save us
Nothings gonna save us
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
That's alright
All I say is all I know and all I know is what you made me
My only dope calypso
It's over
In pieces
It's over
I'm alright
The lyrics to Violent Soho's "Dope Calypso" speak to the ways in which society can feel constraining, rigid, and ultimately disappointing. The opening lines "Try / With a little bit of action / They don't build the world this way / It's alright" suggest that there is a disconnect between the actions people take and the way society is structured. While it may feel limiting, the singer is ultimately resigned to the fact that this is simply the way things are. This feeling of being boxed in is reinforced in the following lines, which refer to a woman who "lied / With the face of Cleopatra" - someone who may look the part of a powerful figure, but is ultimately hemmed in by societal strictures.
The chorus of the song offers a moment of release: "Now / I'm gonna go outside / Nothings gonna save us / My only dope calypso." The idea of going outside suggests a kind of escape from the confines of society, while the phrase "my only dope calypso" might refer to some kind of drug-induced liberation. This desire for escape is further reinforced in the lines "Wise / Like three men they never got it / They'll keep death staring me down / I'm alright" - a reference to three "wise men" who may have held knowledge, but were ultimately powerless to prevent death. The singer acknowledges that death is inevitable, but they remain "alright" in the face of it.
As the song reaches its conclusion, the lyrics become simpler and more direct: "All I say is all I know and all I know is what you made me / My only dope calypso / It's over / In pieces / It's over / I'm alright." These lines suggest that the singer is taking control of their own narrative - they may only be able to say what they've been taught, but they are still able to find their own version of freedom.
Overall, "Dope Calypso" is a song about feeling trapped by society's rules and expectations, but finding moments of liberation in spite of that. The chorus suggests that, no matter how restrictive things might seem, there is always a way to break free and find one's own version of happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Try
By taking some action, one can try to alter the world, but the world often does not allow for change
With a little bit of action
Small efforts towards change may not be enough to truly affect the world
They don't build the world this way
The structure of society often does not allow for individual change or progress
It's alright
Despite the limitations of the world, it is okay to try and make a difference
She lied
Someone has deceived the artist
With the face of Cleopatra
The deceiver had a deceptive appearance, like the famous Egyptian queen
The world ain't built this way
The singer sees limitations in the structure of society that prevent growth and change
Now
At this moment
I'm gonna go outside
The artist wants to leave their current situation
Nothings gonna save us
There is no hope for redemption or salvation for the artist in this moment
My only dope calypso
The singer's only escape or release from their troubles is a particular type of music
That's alright
Despite the hopelessness of the situation, it is okay for the artist to seek solace in music
Wise
The singer claims wisdom
Like three men they never got it
Three other people did not understand something, which the singer feels he does
They'll keep death staring me down
The idea of mortality is weighing heavily on the singer, despite his confidence in his own wisdom
So safe they never asked us
The powers that be have not sought the artist's opinion or input
All I say is all I know and all I know is what you made me
The artist's perspective and understanding of the world is shaped entirely by external influences, rather than his own experiences or observations
It's over
Something has ended
In pieces
The ending was not clean or tidy
I'm alright
Despite the tumultuous ending, the artist is okay
Contributed by Muhammad B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ivan Tineo
[Verse 1]
Try
With a little bit of action
They don't build the world this way
It's alright
She lied
With the face of Cleopatra
The world ain't built this way
It's alright
[Chorus]
Now
I'm gonna go outside
Nothing's gonna save us
Nothing's gonna save us
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
My only dope calypso
That's alright
[Verse 2]
Wise
Like three men, they never got it
They keep death staring me down
I'm alright
Safe
So safe, they never asked us
The world ain't built this way
It's alright
Fang1rl_101
I discovered this band about 5 days ago, and have been non stop listening since. My dad went to their school for 2 years, and they happen to live really close to us. It’s pretty awesome.
Dante Consonero
Australia is bringing back skate culture in the best way possible . . . also reviving grunge and punk ... love it
The punisher
I love Australia
Clario298
Dante Consonero fuck yeh so gnarly
Aeoteroa
Aussies making some killer punk styles rn. These guys, and I love the chats too, Courtney Barnett doing her thing as well. Maybe not punkish but still great
Freshy420
@Aeoteroa check out a band called stuck out, they are another small aussie band thats sick
Aeoteroa
@Freshy420 thanks man I'll scope them out. So much talent in Australia.
Taylor Osterman
Just discovered these guys like literally 5 minutes ago. They're pretty awesome.
Luke Brooker
do you still like them, 2 years later ?
Carpenter
Yeeee mang