comfort

Developing their sound through years of intensive writing and performing in spaces aligned with Glasgow's queer/punk scene, sibling duo Comfort share new single ‘Wild and Fragile’ taken from new album What’s Bad Enough? out 5th May 2023 via Fatcat Records. They also announce a UK tour with tickets on-sale now here.

Comfort’s set up consists of Sean on drums and Natalie as magnetic frontwoman, backed by wildly oscillating software synths to create music that is direct and engaging. Rejecting industry standards regarding how a song is supposed to be written and produced, the confrontational vulnerability inherent in their music reaches for a personal, yet queer liberation within a constrictive society.

Filmed via an old blackberry camera phone from the 00s, the video for ‘Wild and Fragile’ captures the aesthetic of when the pair grew up, with many of the experiences referenced in the lyrics.

Frontwoman Natlies explains of the track, “When I forgot how long it had been since I came out for the first time, I was filled with elation, pride, joy. I wanted to capture the blessing I felt in recognising that something that was once such a huge change in my life had become just another Tuesday. This song is in tribute to that feeling. It is a song about how magnificent it can feel to be alive. It reflects my life, my journey, my pain, my love, because all these things make me the woman I am proud to be today. It is a song about allowing yourself the beauty and joy you knew you deserved, something that kept me going through years of survival. I want to be vulnerable, easy to break, I am tired of needing to be hard in order to exist. I love being a transgender woman and, if nothing else, by this alone I have made it.”

In an industry where playlists are king, and aesthetic rules, Comfort are unconcerned with fitting in. As the validity of trans identities is consistently in question, Comfort create music demanding freedom not tolerance - they have reinterpreted the ethos of punk music for the 21st century sending a clear message that they hold no interest in finding a middle ground with bigotry.

Recorded with Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub) at Castle of Doom studios in Glasgow, tracks across What’s Bad Enough? touch on themes from the inherent prejudice throughout our culture ('Never Been Ignorant') and the pressure to conform as a queer person ('Cowardice In Numbers'), through to the unhinged nature of capitalism ('Normal Till It’s Not') and the damaging ideologies surrounding grind culture ('Billionaire Potential').

Lead single 'Real Woman' is an uplifting and unashamedly confident track about frontwoman Natalie’s existence as a transwoman. Melding glitchy electronics and propulsive off-kilter beats with angular leftfield hip-hop vocals, it's an empowering track about the Transgender community and rising above intolerance, with lyrics such as “your prejudice is not my problem”,  and “I’ve never had so much interest in what’s between my legs. I don’t blame them at all, I think I’m fit as well”. The track also sees the duo calling out the likes of J.K. Rowling.

Combining sparse industrial soundscapes with pulsating beats, and avant-garde, hook-filled electronics, What’s Bad Enough? is a consummate snapshot of their undefinable yet danceable output, which at times calls to mind the output of the Anticon collective. Accompanied by self-produced music videos, both projects are a snapshot of a group disengaged from genre specifics.

As siblings, Natalie and Sean’s deep understanding and unwavering trust of one another allows them to push each other beyond self-imposed thresholds. Through consistently recording their writing process, they build upon their initial reactions to ideas forming structures out of improvisation to create an organic and flow-like state to their music. Lyrically Natalie is inspired by her lived experience of a near perpetual injustice, the assertion that all art is essentially political runs through their work.

The new album comes after debut album Not Passing, and on the heels of the band’s genre-defying All Fears, Fully Formed EP, which came out last year and saw the duo further push the envelope of the uncompromising beat-driven sound. The band's infectious energy and raw messages have seen them earn early plaudits at press both on record and for the sheer power of their live shows, having played alongside the likes of Armand Hammer, Goat Girl, and Protomartyr.

What’s Bad Enough? out 5th May 2023 via Fatcat Records

Today, inimitable Glasgow sibling duo Comfort return with the announcement of their highly anticipated new album “What’s Bad Enough”, and a new video and single titled “Real Woman”. The new album is due out 5th May.

The album comes on the heels of the band’s genre-defying FatCat debut “All Fears, Fully Formed” EP, which came out last year and saw the duo further push the envelope of the uncompromising beat-driven sound. Having developed their sound through years of intensive writing and performing in spaces aligned with Glasgow's queer/punk scene, the band's infectious energy and raw messages have seen them earn early plaudits at press both on record and for the sheer power of their live shows, having played alongside the likes of Armand Hammer, Goat Girl and Protomartyr.

Recorded with Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub) at Castle of Doom studios in Glasgow, the lead single “Real Woman” is an uplifting and unashamedly confident track about frontwoman Natalie’s existence as a transwoman. Melding glitchy electronics and propulsive off-kilter beats with angular leftfield hip-hop vocals, the new single musically picks up where their latest EP left off, whilst continuing to explore deep-rooted systemic social issues and reductive ideologies around sexuality and identity.