Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
Desire, an everlasting grip of that youthful energy, that
fire and fury you felt playing a style of music that gives
you a lifelong addiction and appreciation. If you’ve once
been part of that certain something, that became part of
your identity, it never lets you go.
Drummer Sascha, bassist Jan, guitarists Philipp and
Tobias know how it is getting older but still feeling the
fire. The four friends shook up the scenes out of Frankfurt
in the 90s and 00s. They played in different bands, they
toured Europe and the US of A, they were mods, punks,
hardcore kids. And they never lost their connection and
love for their music. That’s why they got together some
years back, rehearsing and writing songs just for the
heck of it.
Out of pure desperation the four of them were thinking
about staying a goddamn instrumental band, maybe
working with projections and shit to fog the fact that there
was something initial missing: a singer. The road was
calling their names, and they wanted to play shows and
let you and you and you know what they got… So, they
gave it one last try to find somebody to fill the void behind
the mic. What helped was a platform – basically Tinder
for musicians – to find that certain somebody. They kept
it simple and only dropped one thing: #blackflag.
On the other side of the screen there is Sam, a mystical,
ghostly punkrock fairy. Sam shares that same hashtag,
and she wants to sing. So, why not give it a try? Sam
takes the offer, shows up in the rehearsal space, and
the rest is history. Sam owns it. Sam is prepared. Sam
can sing, scream, kick ass and has the lyrics to back it
all up!
The Pill is finally a fully-fledged band. #thepillisaband
On different occasions they now set stages on fire. They
played a sweaty show in a packed Molotow cellar at
Reeperbahn Festival, they joined the “Female Fronted
Is Not A Genre” festival at legendary SO36 in Berlin and
took the place by storm. They are ready. They were born
ready. And they have that record to prove it. As any
classic hardcore/punk LP it’s almost over before it started.
Ten songs in twenty minutes. That’s the way.
I Am A God sets the tone: “You think that I’m a girl?”,
Sam asks, “Let me tell you I am a god/ And you know
that I’m heaven sent.” What else would Sam be? The
legendary hashtagged Californian hardcore icons drip
out of every note here. This is old-school knowledge,
played today. Fast, furious, and packed with energy. But
it’s way more than just a bland tribute. It’s a middlefinger
that finds its own direction. Salary Man allows
itself a certain amount of melody – also carried by Sam
who obviously can do more than bellow. Or Somewhere
that shows that The Pill is a more dimensional band that
can even Hüsker Dü things up if they are willing to. The
Bitter Pill presents itself surprisingly angular and kind of
melancholic. And What’s New almost makes its way into
post-hardcore territory. Inbetween Switch and Off give
you all the Greg Ginn vs. Dez Cadena your damaged
souls were desperately striving for.
The debut album Hollywood Smile has been released on
April 5th, 2024 by Hamburg’s Sounds Of Subterrania.
