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."
Viceroy
Violent Soho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're like a rhinestone pickup line
My drunk guitar's more fun than you'll ever be
Dear God
You're a monologue repeater
A computer is a better friend than I'll ever be (than I'll ever be)
I ditched you Saturday night
Take a photograph
It's gonna last longer
I feel so temporary
Like some viceroy asshole maybe
Yeah
King or the viceroys
Yeah
King or the viceroys
King or the viceroys
Oh God
Give it up the charisma
This cold call waving is a sign of a weaker disease (a weaker disease)
I ditched you Saturday night
'Cause I want you to know
Take a photograph, it's gonna last longer
I feel so temporary
Like some viceroy asshole maybe
Yeah
King or the viceroys
Yeah
King or the viceroys
Why want it
Why need it
Why guess it
Can't help me
God help me
God help me
I am my own and so are you
King or the viceroys
King or the viceroys
King or the yeah
King or the viceroys
King or the
King or the shit
The lyrics of Violent Soho's Viceroy depict the singer's desperation to flee from the clingy and repetitive relationship with his partner ("Killjoy", "monologue repeater"). He detests the idea of being temporary and wants to break free, which is evident from "I ditched you Saturday night, 'cause I want you to know." The singer compares himself to a "viceroy asshole," who is a transient ruler appointed by a monarch to directly control a particular province or region. He feels like a king whose reign will be short-lived, just like the time he spends with his current partner.
The chorus repeats the phrase "King or the viceroys" multiple times, which represents the choice presented to the singer. The king stands for a powerful, long-lasting relationship, while the viceroys stand for short-lived experiences. The singer is caught in a dilemma where he wants a meaningful and long-lasting relationship but doesn't want to invest his time and emotions to end up in something as temporary as a viceroy's reign. The lyrics also touch upon the idea of finding comfort in technology, which is symbolized by the line "A computer is a better friend than I'll ever be."
Overall, Violent Soho's Viceroy is a song about the fear of being temporary, of living a transient life, and of the paradox of seeking both freedom and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Killjoy
Addressing someone who ruins the fun
You're like a rhinestone pickup line
Your attempt at charm is tacky and fake
My drunk guitar's more fun than you'll ever be
I don't need you to have a good time
Dear God
An exclamation of frustration or despair
You're a monologue repeater
You're boring because you never have anything new to say
A computer is a better friend than I'll ever be (than I'll ever be)
I have a stronger connection with a machine than with you
I ditched you Saturday night
I avoided spending time with you
'Cause I want you to know
I'm doing this intentionally
Take a photograph
Capture this moment
It's gonna last longer
It will be preserved forever
I feel so temporary
I feel like I don't belong or don't matter
Like some viceroy asshole maybe
Like someone who acts arrogant and entitled
Yeah
An affirmation of agreement or excitement
King or the viceroys
A comparison between great leaders and those who act like them
Oh God
A repetition of a previous exclamation
Give it up the charisma
Stop pretending to have charm
This cold call waving is a sign of a weaker disease (a weaker disease)
Your attempt to gain attention is a sign of your desperation
Why want it
Questioning the desire for something
Why need it
Questioning the necessity of something
Why guess it
Questioning the uncertainty of something
Can't help me
Acknowledging the inability to be helped
God help me
A plea for divine intervention
I am my own and so are you
We are responsible for our own lives
King or the
Continuation of the previous comparison
King or the viceroys
Completion of the previous comparison
King or the shit
An even stronger affirmation of the previous comparison
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ben Kuyt
It's like if three metal heads stopped picking on the punk kid at school and they made a band.
Fucking awesome.
Danny
Ben Kuyt also known as grunge
Noah McGaffey
I mean grunge is literally metal plus punk
Merk100
Like... ok
Novum
@Noah McGaffey I suppose so. You can mix the two together and make hardcore too, or metalcore. Just depends on how it's mixed.
David Hanifin
This is definently one of my favourite Violent Soho tracks. Thanks boys for making yet another killer anthem. One of the hottest Brisbane bands kicking ass in every direction at the moment. Fucken superb. YEAH!!!!
Dolph Mcfearless
It’s literally evil by Interpol
zodiac mindwarp
This song routinely saves my life..... literally. ❤️👌
Patrik
World needs more bands like Violent Soho! There are too many indie/hipster good but boring bands today...
Maximiliano Cardillo
try to hear MAD SEED! :D