Premiere: The Melancholies Share Debut Single 'Cute Aggression'

Orewa-based duo The Melancholies (the combined talents of Holly Coogan and Leisure's Tom Young) have unveiled their debut single 'Cute Aggression', exploring a darkly psychedelic realm of beat-driven dream-pop. Their assured first release draws inspiration from the esoteric and transgressive work of Throbbing Gristle front person Genesis P. Orridge (Psychic TV), deploying ominous synth washes, chiming guitars, and the couple's ghostly reverbed vocals to dramatically catchy effect - conjuring a compelling and danceable world of sound. Young lifted the lid on the origins of the new project and upcoming plans for The Melancholies...

"The Melancholies was born out of a desire to do something creative as a couple. We had been kinda just doing the same stuff for a while (e.g. Netflix and food) and we just sort of got fed up and wanted to try and make our time together more productive and creatively satisfying. Holly had never made music before this project but we have pretty much the same taste in music - especially when it comes to the darker / more niche side of things; so I knew she would have really good ideas.

It’s been a really cool process and we’ve both learnt a lot from each other. It’s great because Holly’s not an experienced musician; she had never even really sung before this project. She approaches the production process from a very non-technical POV which helps to keep me grounded and not too carried away with anything that I might if I was by myself. She comes up with awesome synth textures that I feel a ‘regular’ musicians might not land on. She even hummed the bass and guitar lines to me and I played them in. It was a really fun process and it felt refreshing to have her input and the way she approaches things.

'Cute Aggression' is a song about passion and devotion. I’ve been an admirer of Genesis P. Orridge (Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle) and the Temple of Psychic Youth for a long time and I’ve always been inspired by his ‘Pandrogyne Project’; where in the early 2000s he and his wife began to undertake multiple gender reassignment surgeries with the idea of merging to become a ‘third being’. It’s super strange but also a really beautiful act of ultimate devotion. Musically we take inspiration from the dark side of the 80s and 90s, as well as krautrock and techno.

We want to build up our live set and go travelling - basically using touring as an excuse get out of our comfort zone and go see/do some cool shit."