Rotterdam band Bombstrap have built their identity around a confrontational blend of sound, image and attitude. Drawing from hardcore, punk and alternative performance art, the group create music that is deliberately abrasive and theatrically charged, with visual artist and singer Eva Kah at its centre.
The band are based at Het Poortgebouw, one of Rotterdam’s best-known squatted centres, and their work reflects the communal and anti-establishment environment around them. Their noisy approach is presented as a response to the city’s increasingly commercial character, while their aesthetic draws on art-school provocation, internet culture and deliberately excessive performance.
Kah’s live presence is central to Bombstrap’s impact. Her vocal style moves between warning cries and harsh ululations, matching an appearance that treats the singer as part performer and part living artwork. The result occupies an uneasy space between anger, nihilistic energy and deliberately abrasive humour.
Bombstrap’s debut album, Big Enemy, is out now through Tartarus. Its shifting sound combines chopped-up rhythms, raw high-volume guitars and a loose, hard-to-define structure. The band’s links to Manchester’s punk and squat scenes, including connections with members of the wider Gnod family, are also reflected in the album’s uncompromising outlook.
The group are recommended for listeners drawn to Gnod, Discharge and Gwar. They are also scheduled to play the Le Guess Who festival.
Sources: The Guardian Music.