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."
Son Of Sam
Violent Soho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And take your hat off
The emptiness in you
Innate fake drama
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
And eat your answers
Dragged by all your curls
Happy dead laughter
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands at all
The end of the line, the beat and the hum
You look so pretty in the light of the night
The only joy, the sound of her lung
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares of even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
The lyrics to Violent Soho's "Son Of Sam" are cryptic and sometimes difficult to decipher. The song seems to be about a woman who is beautiful on the outside but has a hole in her heart. The opening lines suggest a sense of conformity with the phrase "followin' the queue," which could be interpreted as the woman trying to fit into society's expectations. The line "innate fake drama" also suggests a sense of artificiality and perhaps a lack of authenticity in this woman's life.
The chorus repeats the phrase "you were the Son Of Sam," which is a reference to the notorious serial killer who terrorized New York City in the late 1970s. The use of this reference in the song adds an air of danger and darkness to the lyrics. It could suggest that the woman the song is about is somehow connected to or similar to Son of Sam in some way.
The final lines of the song paint a picture of a woman who is broken and alone, but still beautiful. "The only joy, the sound of her lung" suggests that the only thing that brings her joy is the sound of her own breathing. Overall, "Son Of Sam" is a brooding, melancholy song that is open to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Followin' the queue
Following the established rules and systems
And take your hat off
Showing respect and deference to authority
The emptiness in you
Feeling a lack of fulfillment or purpose
Innate fake drama
Artificial emotional turmoil that comes from within
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Commenting on a woman's emotional pain and vulnerability
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
Appearing composed and polished despite personal turmoil
You were the Son Of Sam
Comparing the subject to the notorious serial killer
No one cares or even understands
Feeling isolated and unheard by others
Lift your hands in praise
Turning to religion or other beliefs for solace
And eat your answers
Resorting to meaningless distractions to avoid confronting problems
Dragged by all your curls
Feeling overwhelmed and out of control
Happy dead laughter
Faking happiness or contentment despite feeling empty inside
The end of the line, the beat and the hum
Alluding to the inevitability of death
You look so pretty in the light of the night
Highlighting the superficiality of beauty and the contrast between surface appearance and inner turmoil
The only joy, the sound of her lung
Finding meaning or pleasure in dark or morbid places
No one cares of even understands
Feeling isolated and misunderstood
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Reiterating the emotional pain and vulnerability of the subject
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
Repeating the contrast between outward appearance and inner turmoil
You were the Son Of Sam
Continuing the comparison to the infamous serial killer
No one cares or even understands
Reiterating the sense of isolation and loneliness
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Emphasizing the emotional vulnerability of the subject
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
Repeating the idea of a composed appearance in the face of internal turmoil
You were the Son Of Sam
Echoing the previous comparison to a notorious murderer
No one cares or even understands
Reiterating the feelings of isolation and lack of connection
Writer(s): Michael Richards, Luke Boerdam, James Jonathan Tidswell, Luke Henery Copyright: Mushroom Music Pty Ltd.
Contributed by Tristan R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PeteVVest
Followin' the queue
And take your hat off
The emptiness in you
Innate fake drama
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Lift your hands in praise
And eat your answers
Dragged by all your curls
Happy dead laughter
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands at all
The city took my only love
The end of the line, the beat and the hum
You look so pretty in the light of the night
The only joy, the sound of her lung
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares of even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
maya_the_bee
I’m only 15, but I found this band through my Spotify recommendations about 2 years ago. I’ve literally introduced this band to virtually every other teenager in my perimeter. Violent Soho is criminally underrated.
Oliver Wayke
dude true, i bleed VS, all their songs hit
PeteVVest
Followin' the queue
And take your hat off
The emptiness in you
Innate fake drama
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Lift your hands in praise
And eat your answers
Dragged by all your curls
Happy dead laughter
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands at all
The city took my only love
The end of the line, the beat and the hum
You look so pretty in the light of the night
The only joy, the sound of her lung
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares of even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Beautiful girl, you got a hole in your heart
Sitting pretty till the world tore apart
You were the Son Of Sam
No one cares or even understands
Jenna Salzan
This shit is so good damn. The 90s influence in this song is killer and everything I love about this band. I hope to see them live soon. The singer also sounds like a mix between the vocalists from screeching weasel and fugazi haha
rkerr97
This is the song that introduced me to Violent Soho 7 years ago. They are one of my favourite bands right now. I went from Vancouver, BC to Portland to see them and it was one of the best experiences of my life
Freshy420
My first time seeing them was walking down to the local pub in Mansfield haha
relientk777
How does this not have more views, this song is so badass, it blows my mind
WillMkB
Essa é a melhor banda da atualidade.
COME TO BRAZIL!!!!!!
MilkMustaches007
wow how can these not hit it big they are just amazing grunge is coming backXD
Christian Perez
I remember when they broke the scene. I was sitting with The Smashing Pumpkins in my lap. I was in highschool and got my first car. I heard Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, and absolutely lost my shit. It's a strange feeling when the world gives you everything. Violent Soho gives me that hope...
That good music isn't gone...