Hygiene

Hygiene, the London outfit, layered a throwback post-punk edge onto contemporary D.I.Y. garage punk. They surfaced again in 2019 after a period of inactivity, delivering the pointedly sociopolitical Private Sector as their follow-up to the official debut issued eight years earlier.

From the late 2000s onward the group put out multiple self-released cassettes along with singles and EPs via modest imprints such as Going Underground Records (U.S.), Dire, and Static Shock (U.K.), eventually aligning with the London-based La Vida Es un Mus. That partnership yielded the vinyl-and-digital rollout of the band’s first proper album, Public Sector, in 2011, which showcased Nathaniel Weiner (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Guy Butterworth (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Richard Lewis (bass/vocals), and Pat Daintith (drums/vocals).

Spurred by the political reverberations of the U.S. election and widening economic inequality in the latter half of the 2010s, the members reconvened after several years away to compose and track a sophomore effort. Private Sector emerged on Upset the Rhythm in 2019. During the interim Lewis moved to Poland, while Lucy Anstey (Primetime), already a guest contributor on the album, assumed bass duties for the ensuing live dates.