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."
OK Cathedral
Violent Soho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell everyone you'd like to tell
That i'm not gonna make it
Waiting and waiting for god
To carry me to shore
No i'm not gonna take it
Gonna change you
Gonna save you
But I'll be here anyway
Everyone knows it's just like that
The government knows it's just like that
The writing is written on your back
I'll take an island in your eyes
Watch the sun get high
And pretend until it's all gone
I don't ever wanna go
This cathedral is my home
Wake up inside
Wake up inside what you don't know
Cause we're not gonna make it
For years we've been acting so cold
Useless chat and ice
No we're not gonna take it
And i said to my mother
Gonna change you
Gonna save you
But I'll be here
Everyone knows it's just like that
The government knows it's just like that
The writing is written on our back
I'll take an island in your eyes
Watch the sun get high
And pretend until it's all gone
I don't ever wanna go
This cathedral is my home
This cathedral is my home
"OK Cathedral" is a song about feeling stranded and hopeless. The lyrics express the idea that the singer is waiting for someone or something (in this case God) to come to their rescue and fix their problems, but ultimately they know that it's not going to happen. The repetition of "tell everyone" emphasizes the singer's desire to share their feelings with others, but at the same time, the words "I'm not gonna make it" reveal a deep sense of defeat and despair.
The line "I'll take an island in your eyes, watch the sun get high, and pretend until it's all gone" suggests that the singer wants to escape reality and find solace in someone else's perspective. The "island in your eyes" could be referring to finding refuge in another person's vision and seeing the world in a different way. Meanwhile, they "pretend until it's all gone" reveals a sense of pretending that everything is okay until it eventually fades away.
The repetition of "this cathedral is my home" further emphasizes the idea of feeling trapped and finding a sense of belonging within the issue. The cathedral could also symbolize religion as a haven for the singer. However, despite the sense of comfort the cathedral provides, they admit that they don't ever want to leave it, highlighting a cycle of relying on something that may not ultimately fix their problems.
Overall, "OK Cathedral" demonstrates the struggle of feeling helpless and stuck, creating a striking and honest depiction of mental health issues.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell everyone.
Share this with everyone you can reach.
Tell everyone you'd like to tell
Speak to anyone who would lend an ear.
That i'm not gonna make it
I cannot see a way out of my current situation.
Waiting and waiting for god
Hoping for divine intervention.
To carry me to shore
To rescue me from my troubles.
No i'm not gonna take it
I refuse to accept defeat.
And i said to my mother
I confided in my closest relative.
Gonna change you
I will alter the pattern of your behavior.
Gonna save you
I will shield you from further harm.
But I'll be here anyway
Regardless of the outcome, I will be present.
Everyone knows it's just like that
Society as a whole acknowledges the harsh reality of life.
The government knows it's just like that
Even those in power are aware of the cruel nature of existence.
The writing is written on your back
Your destiny is predetermined in some way.
I'll take an island in your eyes
I would like to inhabit your innermost thoughts and emotions.
Watch the sun get high
Celebrate the arrival of a new day.
And pretend until it's all gone
Act as though our troubles have vanished.
I don't ever wanna go
I dread the thought of leaving this place.
This cathedral is my home
This is where I belong, where I am most comfortable.
Wake up inside
Become aware of your true self.
Wake up inside what you don't know
Discover hidden truths about yourself.
For years we've been acting so cold
Our emotional distance has been going on for a long time.
Useless chat and ice
Our conversations lack depth and warmth.
This cathedral is my home
This is where I feel safe and comforted.
Contributed by Mia R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Carlos Sebastián
This song deserved a music video.
Carlos Andrés Ortiz Ramírez
Esta canción la escuché un día antes de que tuve un accidente automovilístico. Mi amigo falleció y por suerte sólo tuvo algunos golpes fuertes pero no puedo dejarla de oír. La letra va exactamente a lo que siento y sentía en ese momento
Ailyn Ospino
Wao que fuerte
Dzintra Enkuzis
These fellas rock !! Constantly reminding me that awesome things come from & can happen in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia ! Thanks for the trick tracks Violent Soho x
Jacob Smith
Some real nice melancholy tunes... music that makes you think about your life... deep man deep
Jezzar94
this has been my favourite song since the album came out so soulful you guys are so amazing and inspirational in so many ways
James Layton
Definitely bringing back the 90's love it!!
Keleni Turuva
Still vibing to this beautiful track ❤😍🔥
StationDead96
I fucking love this track from this awesome record.
Josh B
Good song, great Tunes, all around great.