Violent Soho are about to unleash one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of the year with WACO, the band’s follow-up to Hungry Ghost, which propelled the Brisbane outfit into the public consciousness back in 2013.
The lead-up to WACO has seen the announcement of what’s sure to be one of the most memorable tours of the year, two absolutely killer singles, and even a DIY promotional campaign from one crazy-committed Soho fan.
The album is set to drop tomorrow via I OH YOU and you can check out Tone Deaf’s review of the LP right here. However, some fans might still be scratching their heads and wondering just what the hell the album title actually means.
Well, whilst Waco might not mean much to most Australians, to any American born before 1985, the word brings up memories of confusing television news reports, military vehicles, and images of a large compound on fire.
The Waco siege is one of the more controversial and disturbing parts of contemporary American history. It took place between February and April 1993 after an ATF search of a compound belonging to the Branch Davidian cult ended in a gun battle.
A siege was subsequently initiated by the FBI, resulting in a standoff that lasted 51 days. The FBI eventually set off a tear gas attack to try and coax the Branch Davidians out of the compound, during which a fire engulfed the building.
76 people died, including the group’s controversial leader, David Koresh. The source of the fire was disputed, however a government investigation concluded in 2000 that members of the Branch Davidians had started the fire.
Still, the incident has gone down in history as a symbol of government malfeasance during which the federal government effectively assassinated its own citizens. The incident would eventually inspire the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
So what does all of that have to do with Violent Soho? Well, according to one I OH YOU staffer, the band’s latest album is “as similarly dismissive as federal agents were of ‘restrained response’” and if you’ve heard ‘Like Soda’, you know what they mean..
According to frontman Luke Boerdam, WACO is like Hungry Ghost’s “older sister: Hungry Ghost dealt with the spiritual skeleton we’ve become from this spoon-fed reality. WACO is more about control and illusion: what the skeleton is being fed”.
Violent Soho’s fourth album, WACO, is out tomorrow (Friday, 18th March) via I OH YOU.
