S.C.U.M.

Named after Valerie Solanas’ Society for Cutting Up Men Manifesto, London’s S.C.U.M. shifted from gothy noise-punk roots toward a more atmospheric and evocative style. The group came together in 2008, surfacing through the Underage scene of club nights and festivals that keyboardist Samuel Kilcoyne had established; he is the son of Add N to (X)’s Barry 7. Alongside Kilcoyne were vocalist Thomas Cohen, Bradley Baker, drummer Ruaridh Connellan, and bassist Joseph Williams. Early on Williams departed, with Huw Webb—brother of the Horrors’ Rhys Webb—taking his place. The band’s first single, Visions Arise, came out on Loog Records in September 2008 and captured their darker initial approach. By 2009 drummer Melissa Rigby had succeeded Connellan, after which S.C.U.M. toured Europe and captured material in Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, and Athens for the SIGNALS series. While continuing to perform live—including a notable July 2011 slot at Portishead’s ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror festival—the band tracked its debut album with Ken and Joylon Thomas. Around the same period the single Amber Hands appeared, followed that September by the full-length Again Into Eyes.