Feature Imaged by Nell Elphinstone
Liquid diet, pretty pill
Paint on the perfect face, dressed to kill
Fresh meat, men yearn to eat
Mannequin queen, baby’s sixteen
Gothic rock-inspired Sacred Hearts, a queer/nonbinary/femme trio, hails from Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia. Their debut track, Glamour Girls, lashes out against the manipulation of women in the entertainment industries, (akin to what Marilyn Monroe wrote about in her essay “Wolves I have Known”), particularly pop singers, models, and actresses, shattering the illusion of the Hollywood dream, and warning of the dark reality within.
The track is at once familiar and jarring, starting with melancholic guitar that crescendoes into a vocal lamentation. It is raw, urgent, and unsettling, as much so as the industry (and institution) that churns out broken souls.
The name Sacred Hearts is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the sacred heart of Jesus, found in Roman Catholicism. This motif has deep meaning to singer June Gray, whose childhood and adolescence were steeped in religious imagery, indoctrination, and aesthetics. After meeting guitarist Josie, a fellow Catholic high school student, the band gelled with the addition of Bella Molloy on bass – rounding out a sound akin to Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, and Joy Division. The iciness and synthetic elements of the band’s sound comes from a drum machine, they explain.
“Sacred Hearts believes and advocates for Indigenous rights, empowering POC voices, feminism, queer liberation, and anti-consumerism,” Gray stated in an interview with Blunt. “I personally like to write lyrics from experience as I believe it’s the most authentic way to write poetry. My lyrics are metaphor-heavy, full of spite and dark romanticism. Visually, Sacred Hearts becomes a caricature of goth, embracing the trashiness and campiness and having fun with it.”
The band is currently working on more new tracks—stay tuned!
Listen to “Glamour Girls” below on Sacred Hearts’ Bandcamp:
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Featured Image by Nell Elphinstone
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