Maggot Heart are a Berlin-based band who refused to be categorised. Swedish singer Linnéa Olson already had several projects under her belt, with Maggot Heart forming back in 2016, and breaking through with their City Girls EP.
The band is completed by Olivia Airy (bass) and Uni Bruniusson (drummer). Two albums later and now they are back with HUNGER – a glorious, grungy, punk/noise rock album that is impossible to ignore.
It’s so rare to find an album that is so instantly pleasing and yet has hidden depths on further listens. However, I can already tell this will be an album that will be in heavy rotation in my ears for a long time, it is a real gem.
I’m on my third listen through HUNGER and what can I say – they have this perfect blend of sleazy guitars, odd and catchy vocal melodies and some well placed, very cleverly thought-out lyrics that seem to come out as effortless poetry.
Reminds me a little of PJ Harvey, some very early Muse (Showbiz era), Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Sonic Youth. There is a blend of so many influences present and although it feels very familiar it sounds totally original and therefore a complete triumph.
These are musicians who really know how to harness their powers. Olsson states:
“A band is a family, a pact in blood, a strange and unique and incredible relationship. I think playing music together with someone is probably the most intimate you can get outside of romance. All that sweat, the trust you have to have in one another, the exchange of energy”.
The album opener ‘Scandinavian Hunger‘ kicks in with a dirty bass, a pulsing, stabbing drum beat and an atonal, vocal snarl. It’s reminiscent of Amyl and the Sniffers (who the band have opened for) but Maggot Heart are far darker in both sound and lyrical content. My favourite line being “so many actions buried, my mind’s a cemetery”.
‘Nil By Mouth‘ instantly grabs you with its dirty riffs and memorable chorus, and later develops into an unsettling breakdown with odd chord progressions, and a rhythmical backdrop that feels like a simmering pot about to bubble over.
Each song develops in layers to build to a climax and you never quite know where they will take you next. It’s catchy, and yet unpredictable in equal measure.
They’ve even added a touch of brass into several tracks, which you think wouldn’t work but it’s carried by brilliant arrangements, such as ‘LBD‘ – a dark, wonky, jazz-inspired portrait of desire.
‘Archer‘ is raw and beautiful, you feel like Olsson is baring her soul with every word and it draws you in, unable to stop listening, right to the final song ‘Parasite‘ a 6 minute epic (I do love a long song), which slows to a sludgy waltz with almost painful sounding vocals that draw it to it’s conclusion.
The whole experience is disturbing, alluring and captivating. I loved every moment of HUNGER.
For a shorter taster of the band have a look and listen at ‘Looking Back At You‘ on YouTube where there is a brilliant lyric video to match.
The album HUNGER is out today on all major platforms.
You can catch Maggot Heart on tour very soon in Europe, UK and USA.
EU dates:
07/09/2023 PL Lodz Summer Dying Loud Festival
05/10/2023 DE Hamburg Hafenklang
06/10/2023 DE Bochum Die Trompete
07/10/2023 DE Berlin Urban Spree
UK dates:
11/11/2023 UK London The Black Heart
US dates (with Messa):
Oct 17 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Oct 18 Hamden, CT Space Ballroom
Oct 19 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie
Oct 20 Washington. DC Comet Ping Pong
Oct 21 Cleveland, OH Beachland
Oct 22 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Oct 23 Ypsilanti, MI Ziggy’s
Oct 24 Cincinnati, OH Woodward Theatre
Oct 25 Nashville, TN The Cobra
Oct 26 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Oct 27 Orlando, FL Will’s Pub
Oct 28 Miami, FL Gramps
Oct 30 New Orleans Gasa Gasa
Nov 1 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
Nov 2 Austin, TX The Lost Well
Nov 5 San Diego, CA Brick by Brick
Nov 7 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Nov 8 Los Angeles, CA Zebulon