HMRC + Vice Killer

HMRC announce their debut album - with an exclusive first live preentation here at our place.

Tyneside’s fierce political punk outift, HMRC, have announced a headline album launch show here at Engine Room North Shields on Wednesday, 29th October, celebrating the release of their upcoming studio album, Cost of Living. ​Written by lyricist, British citizen, and self-described "member of the proletariat" Lloyd Holmes, Cost of Living is a searing document of modern British societal decay, housing collapse, and class warfare. The October show will mark the band's first official live presentation of the new album in its entirety.

Attendees at the Engine Rooms show will experience the band's expanded live setup following the addition of Lewis Hewitt on guitar. Hewitt’s entry introduces a dense, muscular wall of guitar sound to the band’s driving rhythm section, creating an intense, wall-of-sound backdrop for Holmes' razor-sharp spoken-word and vocal delivery.

The launch event will bring the uncompromising social commentary of Cost of Living directly to the stage:   The Housing Crisis & Structural Decay: Tracks like "Property Ladder" and "Brownsite Slum" unpack the long-term fallout of Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme and the physical, health-damaging impact of damp, neglected housing.

Lloyd Holmes has written a small essay delving deeper into the political themes.  https://docs.google.com/document/d/10pLR9J8jfaftZ_cbWWPAufqXuo_25LIb/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=115907206758212743125&rtpof=true&sd=true

Superb support from VICE KILLER:

Joining HMRC for this momentous hometown showcase are Vice Killer, a micro-focused political band that deeply embodies the spirit of small-town Northern communities. Hailing from County Durham, Vice Killer give voice to the working people of former industrial heartlands, weaving raw social realism and regional heritage from pit histories to post-industrial struggles into a captivating alternative indie sound. Their inclusion creates a powerful double-bill rooted firmly in Northern working-class solidarity, truth-telling, and political commentary.