Hemlock for Socrates - You’re Not Here
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s moody, danceable electronic art-rock duo Hemlock for Socrates have released their “dark and angry, lush disco” single and video, ‘You’re Not Here’, heralding a string of tourdates alongside Chicago’s [melter] for July-August 2024. Premiering ‘You’re Not Here’ on Monday, 1 July 2024, Heather Shore (guitar, vocals, programming) and Kegan Heiss (bass, vocals, programming) spoke to Post-punk.com about the new single and its video:
Heather: ‘You’re Not Here’ was written after a breakup. It’s about trying to connect with someone, but they won’t or can’t open up. It’s bitter - they didn’t care enough about me to share their feelings. But it’s also still pleading - let me in to you. There’s also a hint of the fear that after desperately trying to get through the brick wall of someone’s apathy, maybe there’s no one actually behind the wall.
Kegan: I feel there’s a current of optimism in the music despite its minor key and burnt-out synth soundscape. Heather’s vocal delivery reveals the longing behind the reprimand in her text, and we worked to tie that feeling into the constant driving rhythm section to pull the listener through all the anguish and frustration. The guitar solo over the syncopated breakdown is a cacophony of emotional release.
Heather: It’s basically a dark and angry, lush disco track. The lyrics and vocal melody were written first and the song kind of fell together after that. The video is an extension of the central metaphor - searching the dark house for someone, but they’re just not there.
Hemlock for Socrates’ upcoming tour with [melter] kicks off in Louisville, Kentucky on July 26, before taking in dates mainly across the US Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois), and winding up in Hemlock for Socrates’ hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 11 August 2024. Asked what they were most looking forward to about the Hemlock for Socrates tour with [melter], Kegan and Heather replied:
Kegan: Meeting new people! Playing in a bunch of cities we’ve never been to before, getting to see a lot of the stages we’ve known about from afar and from stalking other bands’ tour itineraries. Also, playing with a diverse group of bands - hip-hop, electronic dance, industrial music, we love to build mixed bills and are really very excited about all the artists we’re going to be sharing stages with.
Heather: I think our and [melter]’s music really play off of each other well. We love their sound and are excited to see how our collective music will meld with other bands’ in new contexts. Getting more chances to perform, especially in front of people who haven’t heard us, is also really what it’s about.
Hemlock for Socrates’ is the moody, danceable electronic art-rock partnership of Heather Shore and Kegan Heiss. Together they create music that sounds like the molten alloy from a furnace of disparate genres: doom-disco, electro-cabaret, industrial blues, math-wave. At times the sound is experimental and esoteric; at times it’s dramatic and deeply personal. Their 2022 album Cavern explores the despair of the powerless individual in a society of billions, and the savage desire to experience the pleasures of life and love, no matter how ephemeral they are.
Hemlock for Socrates + [melter] Summer Tour 2024
26 July – Louisville, KY – Art Sanctuary
27 July – Columbus, OH – The Spacebar
31 July – Ypsilanti, MI – Ziggy’s
1 August – Madison, WI – Crucible
2 August – Grand Rapids, MI – Mulligan’s
3 August – Fort Wayne, IN – The Ruin
8 August – Cincinnati, OH – The Comet
9 August – Alton, IL – The Conservatory
10 August – Chicago, IL – Bourbon on Division
11 August – Pittsburgh, PA – The Government Center
