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."
My Generation
Violent Soho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That everything you ever did was silly
It's okay, my friend
Ignore your religion
You'll be happy
I don't even know
The first thing to hate was always pretty
So sayin' you never even mean it
That's okay 'cause
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new, honey, honey
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation, my generation
My generation, yeah, yeah
Un, duex, tres, compare
The only person you will ever marry
This is how we fell
Empty as we'll every be, we're ready
Don't give me away
The end is almost near you just don't feel it
Shut up, yeah, yeah, yeah
That's okay 'cause
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation, generation
Generation, yeah, yeah
My generation
It's my generation, yeah, right
It's my generation, my generation
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation, generation
Generation, yeah, yeah
My generation
The song "My Generation" by Violent Soho is a commentary on the idea of generational values and how they impact the current state of society. The lyrics begin by suggesting that the singer's friend is about to dismiss their past actions as silly, but the singer encourages them to not be constrained by their religion and to embrace happiness. The chorus centers around the idea of the singer's generation living in moderation, "digging up the sound" (perhaps a reference to discovering new music or ideas), and embracing a new era represented by the "brand new honey." The lyrics also discuss the emptiness and uncertainty that can come with romantic relationships ("The only person you will ever marry"), and the singer encourages the listener to reject societal pressures and embrace their own path.
Overall, "My Generation" seems to be a celebration of forging one's own path and embracing change, while rejecting traditional values that may be holding one back. It also touches on themes of empty relationships and societal expectations. Musically, the song is high-energy and features driving guitar riffs and pounding drums.
Line by Line Meaning
Right before you say
That everything you ever did was silly
It's okay, my friend
Ignore your religion
You'll be happy
Before you admit that everything you've ever done is pointless or meaningless, remember that it's okay and you don't need to follow any specific beliefs or rules. Just do what makes you happy.
I don't even know
The first thing to hate was always pretty
I don't even care
So sayin' you never even mean it
That's okay 'cause
I don't even have a good reason to hate anything, and I don't even care enough to pretend to hate things just to fit in. And that's okay.
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new, honey, honey
My generation enjoys things in moderation, but still loves discovering new and exciting kinds of music.
Un, duex, tres, compare
The only person you will ever marry
This is how we fell
Empty as we'll every be, we're ready
No matter who you marry, you're ultimately the only person truly responsible for your own happiness. So, it's important to be ready to face life's emptiness and uncertainty.
Don't give me away
The end is almost near you just don't feel it
Shut up, yeah, yeah, yeah
That's okay 'cause
Don't give up or lose hope, even though the end may be near or feel imminent. It's okay to keep pushing forward, despite uncertainty or fear.
My generation, my generation
My generation, yeah, yeah
This is our time and our era, and we're proud to be part of this generation.
It's my generation, yeah, right
It's my generation, my generation
We own this era and are proud and confident to be part of it.
My generation lives in moderation
Digging up the sound
With the brand new honey, honey
My generation enjoys things in moderation but still loves exploring and finding new exciting and unique music.
My generation, generation
Generation, yeah, yeah
My generation
Our generation is full of unique and driven individuals, and we're proud to be part of it.
Contributed by Isaac P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.