Single Review: itoldyouiwouldeatyou - 'Get Terrified'
itoldyouiwouldeatyou are designed specifically for the outsiders.
When playing live at ArcTanGent festival in 2017, they dedicated their single "Divine Violence" to "all the queers here". Their lyrical content is so frank, honest and weirdly obscure and relatable at the same time- last single "Mourn" perfectly capturing the imperfect beauty of young adults feelings for each other. And on their latest single "Get Terrified", the video shows them playing at a high school party. Although, if this was anything like my high school parties- all the attendants would have had fucking tomatoes thrown at them. But the wonderful thing about itoldyouiwouldeatyou is that usually when a band has a target audience so distinct, they can polarise any casual listener. Whereas these guys just want to expand their gang and include everyone. And that is a world I want to live in.
The song itself of course is brilliant. It starts with the similar math-rock arpeggios they mastered on the "I Am Not Your Fault" EP (sounds a little bit like TTNG, but if they were human beings- not mad math riff robots), but the song moves a little towards a post-hardcore direction with some beefed up guitars, added brass (rather than just the one trumpet) and impressive screaming from vocalist Joey.
Everything this band sings about appears to be sung not just from the bottom of their hearts but from something deeper, like it's their basic human need. Everything they do screams honesty and community. They don't care how different they are because everyones fucking different. Their music reflects that, math-rock isn't always the most accessible of genres- but these boys mould it in a way that everyone can get involved in. The cynics say that itoldyouiwouldeatyou make music for the freaks among us. But the thing is that evreyone's a fucking freak. There's a part of all of us that feels left on the outside, that feels unaccepted, that feels wrong. itoldyouiwouldeatyou make that okay. And that is why they're among the most important up and coming bands in the country right now.
Words by James Kitchen