In Conversation With #250 - Comfort
Sibling duo Comfort have just released their new album ‘What’s Bad Enough?’ via Fatcat Records. They have been developing their sound through years of intensive writing and performing in spaces aligned with Glasgow's queer/punk scene.
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').
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.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Comfort - how are you? So your album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Heya, we’re both great having a massive banger playing some shows in France as we write this. It’s so exciting to have new music out in the world, we feel like we are consistently growing as artists so it’s always great to have something that represents more acurately where we are now as a group.
It is called ‘What’s Bad Enough?’ - what is the meaning behind that?
What’s Bad Enough? Meaning how much longer do we allow capitalism to rot away the human spirit before we take a stand? In the UK the government is slowly removing its mask and revealing itself as the fascist state it truly is, but how much worse does it need to get before we say no more? Similarly on a personal level I (Natalie) have always put things off with regards to my mental health because I never felt like the crisis was urgent enough, this is a learnt culture, someone always has it worse so be grateful for what little you’ve got.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
The record was recorded at Castle of Doom studios in Glasgow with Tony Doogan. A lot of the tunes were written during lockdown as we were lucky enough to still be living together. The recording period was quite intensive we didn’t have much downtime, when we write and program the electronics in each song we don’t work to a tempo I have vivid memories of Tony trying to figure it out for each song so we could record to a click track, so glad it wasn’t me that had to do that.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
The album is a lyrical reflection of my life as a transwoman living in the UK right now. I don’t not think of our songs as representing anything other than us and my point of view as the lyricist. Generally the album deals with the inherited ignorance’s we culturally apply to each other as well as the ever increasing wealth inequality present in the UK. Some of the tunes also targeted more at my experience as a transwoman try to provide a voice of defiance against what can be overwhelmingly normalized bigotry.
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
We'd love to soundtrack any film by Lynne Ramsay because she is an incredible director. What we'd really love would be to soundtrack a game, a massive RPG or horror banger (ideally a resident evil - or anything by frictional games.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album - if so, which one and why?
“Oh I want to have dreams more believable than this” I love this line because it speaks to the beauty inherent in all us, our deep desire for it in our lives and speaks to the hope I find more present in my life as a necessity the grimer the world gets. - nat
Now the album is out there - what next?
We are touring the UK, France, Switzerland and Greece. We are also playing a lot of tunes from what will be the next album already in our live sets, so as we always do we will keep our focus on moving forward, learning and growing as artists and people.
