Current Affairs

Drawing from prior participants in Shopping, the Royal We, Anxiety, and assorted D.I.Y. efforts, Current Affairs weaves post-punk textures that incorporate goth atmospheres, chilled synth-pop hues, and new-wave currents. Following scattered initial recordings and a change in personnel, the revised configuration delivered the restless, dynamic material on Off the Tongue, issued in 2023 as the group’s debut full-length album.

Current Affairs assembled in Glasgow, Scotland during 2016. The original roster featured vocalist and keyboardist Joan Sweeney, previously active with the Royal We, Rose McDowell’s Band, and additional projects; bassist Josh Longton, who had also played in Rose McDowell’s Band, the Downs, and Kaspar Hauser; drummer Andrew Milk, likewise connected to Shopping; and guitarist Sebastian Rivera, formerly of Anxiety. Their initial tracks echoed darker strains of post-punk, drawing audible inspiration from Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Strawberry Switchblade, and comparable acts that surfaced within the group’s taut, propulsive compositions. The cassette-only EP Object appeared in 2017, after which the band issued a pair of 7-inch singles across the ensuing years. In 2019 the bulk of this material was gathered on the compilation album Object & Subject, put out by the London-based label Tough Love.

Current Affairs experienced a roster adjustment in 2020 when Gemma Fleet joined on bass. Although several members later moved to different cities, the musicians kept developing fresh songs through remote collaboration before reconvening in Scotland for joint recording sessions. Captured over a handful of days at Chime Studio under the guidance of producer Ross McGowan, the resulting tracks formed Off the Tongue, which sustained the band’s focus on gothy post-punk and reached listeners via Tough Love in July 2023.