INTERVIEW: ShitNoise release single and announce album

Hailing from Monaco, ShitNoise is a noise rock and dance-punk band that’s been turning heads since starting out in February 2022. Featuring the talents of Aleksejs Macions on vocals and guitar, Paul Albouy on drums and now Vova Dictor on guitar. ShitNoise has rapidly established themselves as must watch act in the underground music scene.

With their original blend of punk aggression, noise rock experimentation and dance-punk energy, the band has created a sound that’s raw and thrilling. The band’s journey began when Aleksejs Macions and Alexandre Michel met at the Centre Culturel Prince Jacques in Beausoleil. Their initial collaboration resulted in the recording of their first song, “Hazardous Bitch,” in early 2022. This track, along with the anti-bullying anthem “Deal With It,” showcased the band’s early sound which was crystallised in their debut EP, Shit City. Recorded between May and June 2022, the EP marked the introduction of Rebecca Bartocci Mesa to the band and was released to positive reception.

The band’s debut album, Moments Before Drowning, followed in April last year. Released on Aleksejs Macions’ birthday, the album captured the intensity and chaotic energy that had become synonymous with ShitNoise. Despite lineup changes, including the departure of Alexandre Michel and the addition of Tim Aringazi, the band continued to evolve and develop their sound, releasing several singles and music videos that highlighted their growth and experimentation.

In February, ShitNoise dropped their album, Good Luck (Welcome To Hell), revealing a more personal lyrical approach. However, it’s their forthcoming album, I Cocked My Gun And Shot My Best Friend, set to drop in September via the Cruel Nature Records imprint, that promises to be their most energetic and mature work to date. This album sees ShitNoise moving away from their noise-centric roots and embracing a fusion of grungy guitar riffs, metal-influenced double-kick drums, and a more polished production style. Inspired by the likes of Nirvana, Sonic Youth and the early garage-punk style of Gilla Band, the album channels pure sonic energy and explores themes of societal decay and personal trauma.

Ahead of the album’s release, ShitNoise has dropped the lead single, “Brown Morning.” This track perfectly distils the band’s evolution and their ability to craft compelling music that strikes a chord on multiple levels. “Brown Morning” is a fuzzy noise rock frenzy, driven by galloping drums and a wall of crunching guitars. The track’s screeching feedback and Aleksejs’ swaggering vocals, which flicker between angsty punk delivery and belted screams, create a spectacular display of storming music that’s unlike anything else out there.

Watch the music video for Brown Morning below

ShitNoise’s latest single “Brown Morning” and their upcoming album I Cocked My Gun And Shot My Best Friend see a band that’s unafraid to evolve and explore the fringes of what’s come before. Keep an eye out for their new album on September 11, 2024, via Cruel Nature Records.

We caught up with ShitNoise to find out more about what they’ve been up to recently, their new single “Brown Morning” and their upcoming album. Check out our interview with ShitNoise below.

Hey ShitNoise, how’s things?

Aleksejs Macions: Doing great! Things are going great!

Paul Albouy: Aleksejs and myself are back in Rock The Casbah, the summer camp we met each other in last year. Things are great! We already have plans for gigs but we just don’t know when and where. Our first album with live drums is releasing in September, and it’s arguably the best one to date.

What’s new since we last spoke in January?

AM: We played a couple of shows in these recent months, we got a lineup change, we announced an album… and we are writing new music, again! Our productivity levels are high haha.

What’s been your highlight of the year so far?

PA: Tell you what, it’s been a long year for me, and it wasn’t always easy to balance working on ShitNoise and working on school with my finals looming ahead, and entrance exams to some universities. Good news, I pulled through and got my high school diploma (yay), got accepted to the school I wanted (double yay) and above all, contributed to ShitNoise’s upcoming album! Its release will certainly be my highlight of the year.

AM: I have nothing to say for this one, I suppose my highlight would be the album announcement.

How have the lineup changes made the band’s sound different?

AM: It made us sound VERY different. For example, our second guitarist has changed constantly. Each one had a different style and different inspirations, so their playing and performance would be different.

PA: As the recently welcomed drummer of this band, I have to say that, quite simply, live drums have allowed the “ShitNoise” sound to evolve. Aleksejs has always programmed very good drums on his tracks, and it goes without saying that my drums were built around this programmed sound, but it was by no means a limit. As I accustomed myself with the source material, I brought my own touch into the songs, my drum-set, my style, my unquenched thirst for John Bonham triplets… beyond all that, it also allows ShitNoise to take on a more professional sound overall, even though my recording setup still needs work!

AM: Yeah, live drums in our songs changed the game a lot.

Which artists have you been listening to recently?

AM: I found myself listening to a lot of Eminem recently, love the new album. Fun stuff. I still listen to bands like Gilla Band or IDLES, and I actually started listening to Fontaines DC. Excited for the upcoming record, I pre-ordered it, haha! I also re-discovered Black Midi, I used to listen to them a bit back in summer of 2022.

PA: Most of the time, I’ll grow fond of two or three artists and play them on repeat for a few weeks before moving on to another short lived obsession. Gojira is different, I’ve loved them for years. Same for Tagada Jones, a French Metal/Punk band. At the moment I’m also listening to bands like Bad Religion and Pearl Jam, the latter being one of my all time favourites.

How did you find making your new album ‘I Cocked My Gun And Shot My Best Friend’?

AM: We started writing it some time after our second album, “Good Luck (Welcome To Hell)”. We wanted to make some grungy sounding songs and we decided to write some, and then it went from there. We also decided to recycle some old demos we never ended up finishing from years ago (either ShitNoise demos or past unfinished projects) that would fit with the album’s sound.

PA: It was my first time recording an album, and it was a tough road. The first batch of songs were recorded at a neighbour’s house, on a different setup. I spent days in the studio doing take after take, playing with half-broken drumsticks and sore fingers. It helped me grow more efficient, but I still have a problem in my work that I haven’t quite gotten rid of: I never settle. For the rest, I was lucky enough to be able to record in the comfort of my own home, and while I still did way too many takes to call myself sane, I had a lot of fun on many of the songs, especially “Hashish (The Yelling Song)”, which was a great but exhausting challenge to record.

What were your inspirations for writing it?

PA: I’ll leave this one to Aleksejs, he composed the whole album!

AM: With all the shit happening nowadays, whether it’s political or societal, I wanted to make a record that emphasised that. I have also talked to many friends about my traumas and accidents; half were supporting, half were complete pricks (responding with “joking/friendly” mockeries and laughs). I suppose that’s where I also got the inspiration for the album title; destroying a friend’s personality completely by doing something he doesn’t like and then saying “Chill bro, it’s just a prank/joke!”

PA: I enjoyed writing lyrics for songs like “Hashish (The Yelling Song)” though, and while I kinda joined the band in the middle, I’m down to help write future albums!

What were your inspirations for writing “Brown Morning”?

AM: I had a lot of rich friends who acted like completely spoiled brats. They never appreciated anything and even laughed at those who weren’t as “lucky” as them. Even if they didn’t explicitly say that to me or their face, you could tell they didn’t like them. What I like doing in my songs a lot is talking from different points of view, and I partially do that in this song. I go back in forth between the “accusator” and the “accused” of being ungrateful.

PA: Same, although I’ll add that the outro of this song is second only to “Hashish (The Yelling Song)” in terms of killing my arms. Thanks Aleksejs.

What can fans expect to hear on the record?

PA: Nirvana infused grunge, catchy pop rock, experimental mayhem, there’s fun for the whole family!

AM: Yeah, we definitely widened the musical palette of this album.

How do you feel the new record showcases your sonic evolution?

AM: We tried to make something that would appeal to a wider audience. We kept our signature experimental sound in our songs, but we also tried to make something for more “mainstream” or “commercial” music fans. I had a conversation with my mom once, I don’t remember what we were talking about, but she told me a very great quote: “A diamond doesn’t have one facet.” I understood that we shouldn’t concentrate on one genre or style, because at some point, it would just start to bore us. I suppose that’s why many bands change their style completely, either for commercial reasons or because they just got tired of writing the same shit over and over again.

PA: I couldn’t have said it any better.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

AM: Our live performance? Hard to choose a favourite, each one was great in its own way. So to that I would say our latest couple of shows in Nice, France?

Finally, what’s next for you and your music?

AM: Releasing the new album, and seeing what people think!

PA: I’d like to expand my musical horizons, just like ShitNoise is doing at the moment. I can’t be sure of much, as a new era of my life is starting with university, but I can say one thing, at the risk of sounding tacky: Rock never leaves you, and you can bet I’ll keep playing my whole life!

Listen to Brown Morning below