THOTCRIME

US / UK cybergrind band THOTCRIME are set to return this summer with their third full-length, CONNECTION ANXIETY, due out on August 16 via Prosthetic Records. Closing old wounds and opening the dancefloor, CONNECTION ANXIETY is a defiant act of jubilation and self-celebration in a world that can oftentimes feel at odds with joy.

Garnering praise from outlets such as Metal Hammer, Kerrang! and Metal Injection, THOTCRIME’s sophomore effort, D1G1T4L_DR1FT, was the beginning of a self-actualization for the young band. Two albums under their belts and countless hours spent collaborating via online servers and the first ever full member line-up tour soon followed in the United States, with Hayley Elizabeth (vocals), Melady Jane (guitar) and Dottie Homler (drums) meeting co-founding member Les Beaux Plastiques (production) for the first time in person.

Affirming THOTCRIME’s evolution from a studio project into something altogether more tangible, writing for CONNECTION ANXIETY continued throughout 2023. With the group’s voracious creative appetite rarely letting up as things took a more collaborative turn on the production front as Elizabeth soon found herself taking on shared duties with Beau across the 10 songs. Homler also took the lead on all drum programming on hir final work with the band and Melody’s approach to guitar saw the use of live instrumentation compared to THOTCRIME’s previously digitally inclined tendencies.

Earning a reputation among fans of the cybergrind genre for their cohesive blend of disparate genre components, CONNECTION ANXIETY sees a vibrant embrace of rave, J-rock and J-Metal, electronicore and pop. Their propensity of whiplash-inducing breakdowns and edge of your seat blast beating is still there in songs such as We Hope Some Good May Come of This (feat. Bottom Surgery) and the title-track, whilst lead single The Wrong Way positively brims with saccharine hooks as Hayley posits “Is it wrong to try something new?” in a chorus fit for the most intoxicating of PC-Music artists.

Emancipating from past sores and pains is a necessary path of growth, which makes CONNECTION ANXIETY’s gravitation towards positivity and a warehouse rave informed sonic palette singular in its creators earnestness and sanguinity. Elizabeth’s heart-on-her-sleeve lyricism is less an abandon of THOTCRIME’s previous works fraughtness, so much as a perspective shift into the self-affirming and proactive.

Tied together by returning digital artist Yam Lynn, CONNECTION ANXIETY’s smile beneath the cracks rather than over them is a testament to resilience by way of dancing with and for those dearest.

THOTCRIME is:
Hayleyy Elizabeth (she/her) - Vocals
Les Beaux Plastiques (she/her) - Producer
Melody Jane (she/her) - Guitar
Dottie Homler (Sie/hir) - Drums