The London-based Shopping dropped their third album, The Official Body, back in December, and the post-punk record features all the paramounts of the genre — propulsive bass lines, clean guitar riffs, kinetic energy, propulsive experimentation — in top form. Now, as the band gets ready to begin their North American tour, they’ve shared a new video for “Suddenly Gone.”
The band’s Rachel Aggs says that the video is about the mixed feelings that come with the increased acceptance of queer culture:
“It’s about feeling used and undervalued in a relationship or, more generally, as a queer and/or a person of color making music or art in the UK and how that can feel very draining. You can feel overlooked for years and then suddenly tokenized when your identity becomes buzz-worthy or fashionable.
So much of the guitar music we love originates from roots and blues music made by and for people of color, and the same goes for dance and disco that has its roots so firmly in queer culture. We are asking people to reflect on what our cultural landscape would really look like if it weren’t for those pioneering but marginalized artists, and in particular, what our cities will eventually look like if queer spaces and independent gig venues continue to be forced to close.”
Aggs also previously said about the album as a whole, “We’ve always felt like what we do is political in that it’s cathartic and healing in some way, but at some point it just felt like making ‘political’ music was a bit like putting a tiny band aid on an enormous wound.”
Watch the video for “Suddenly Gone” above. The band also begins their North American tour tomorrow, so check out their upcoming dates below.
3/1 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott
3/2 — Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
3/3 — Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
3/4 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
3/6 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage
3/7 — Asheville, NC @ Mothlight
3/8 — Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
3/9 — Atlanta, GA @ 529
3/10 — New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
3/11 — Houston, TX @ The Secret Group
3/12 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
3/14 — Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Annex (SXSW (11:25pm)
3/15 — Austin, TX @ Latitude 30 (SXSW) (10pm)
3/16 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
3/17 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
3/18 — San Diego, CA @ Whistle Stop
3/20 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
3/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
3/22 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
3/23 — Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
3/24 — Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
3/27 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
3/28 — Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
3/29 — Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar
3/30 — Toronto, ON @ Baby G
3/31 — Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
