Photo by Errick Easterday
Words by Maddy Howell
If it was possible for tortured poets to write themselves out of the darkness in the manner often romanticised, SeeYouSpaceCowboy vocalist Connie Sgarbossa’s life would have been a whole lot simpler.
Delivering a no-holds-barred exploration into the darkness that was consuming her on the band’s 2021 album The Romance of Affliction, the vocalist has never been one to sugar-coat her suffering. Channelling her darkness and self-destruction into some of the most blisteringly raw music ever to grace the scene, her candid nature made for one of the best heavy albums of the year, but its creation by no means served as a magic pill. Just two weeks after she got home from recording the album, Connie overdosed in a deliberate attempt to take her own life.
“I've always hated the notion that music saves lives, because what happened to me is the reality of it,” she starts.
“It was nice to get things out of my system, but it didn't solve any problems in my life, and I still had to work through the painful process of getting clean. That album was like a confessional diary to me, but once it was done - I had to put the real work in.”
There may be some truth to the idea that the best art is born from pain, but once you’ve borne your entire soul on an album, where do you go next?
Throughout her recovery, that question rattled around Connie’s mind, and the answer comes in the form of the band’s ambitious third album. Rooted in fiction and basking in a stunning noir universe, Coup De Grâce is unlike any hardcore record you’ve heard before.
“This album was born out of clarity, and the visuals came before the music,” the vocalist nods.
“I had this idea in my head of a period piece with a Moulin Rouge, prohibition era, speakeasy vibe. The concept of this fictional world got my gears turning, and I knew we had to commit to it. From the outfits to the aesthetic, we’re weaving this anthology tale of love, sex, destruction, dancing, and rebellion.”
Taking inspiration from Frank Miller's Sin City and neo-noir sci-fi films, Connie set about bringing to life the landscape swiftly forming in her mind. A graphic novel in musical form, across twelve songs Coup De Grâce embraces the vocalist’s love of storytelling, funnelling her experiences and emotions through the lives of fictional characters within a dystopian theatrical world.
“My job in the band, aside from screaming and wailing away, is to be the creative director,” she smiles.
“Without being in the survival mode of a drug addict, I could sit and put time into crafting these things. All the stories told on this record connect to things that I've dealt with, so whilst it is fictional, it’s not as though I’m inventing these feelings. I’ve taken my experiences and turned it into this new world, so I suppose it’s semi-autobiographical. There are always going to be things in my life that I want to sing about, this time it's just done in a more creative way than I've done in the past.”
With ‘To The Dance Floor For Shelter’ acknowledging the importance of the hardcore scene in Connie's life, and ‘Red Wine and Discontent’ exploring the dirty little secrets so many of us keep, romance and love are central to the story of Coup De Grâce. Addiction no longer a prevalent part of her life, Connie found herself drawn towards indulgence and hedonism, inspired by the expressive environments of cabaret and burlesque.
“I zeroed in on this acceptance of myself as a non-monogamous individual, and how much romance and love mean to me,” she explains.
“My love for hardcore is a huge part of that. From the age of 14, this scene changed my life. I would get out of school and immediately hop on a bus down to the Ché Café to see whatever show they had on. I needed to be a part of this thing, and it shaped so much of who I became, especially when I started volunteering there. It's what I needed in my life, and even if this band sounds different now, my expression is still rooted in hardcore. My existence and my heart still lie in that DIY scene.”
Now playing in much bigger rooms than teenage Connie ever envisioned, that feeling remains central to SeeYouSpaceCowboy, captured vividly in songs like ‘Rhythm and Rapture’. Never a band to stick within the guidelines, a fixation on sonic evolution has allowed the Californian band to rise to the top of their scene, and that spirit is more alive than ever on Coup De Grâce.
“We change our sound every record, and that's simply because we get bored,” Connie laughs.
“This band will always be a reflection of us, and we do what we want. There’s post-hardcore on the album of course, but there’s also indie rock in there, lounge songs, and saxophone. When we first started writing, there were a lot of nervous industry people in suits worried that we were toning down the breakdowns, but that evolution is an integral part of this band. Nothing is too weird for SeeYouSpaceCowboy.”
A fan of everything from crust-punk and screamo to bedroom lo-fi and techno, one thing that album three wholeheartedly embraces is Connie’s love of melodies. Telling the story of a dimly lit smoky city - narrated by Iris.EXE - Coup De Grâce is an album in the truest sense, but despite its huge sound SeeYouSpaceCowboy aren’t playing up to the grandeur.
“We’re not a big band, so I hope no one’s expecting a stage plot and an elaborate show!” Connie laughs.
“I'm excited to be able to play these pretty interludes between tracks, but we're not really a big, theatrical band. Our live shows are still going to be the same insane craziness because we’re not a band who plan them out. We’ll always strive to have the same type of stage energy as legends like The Chariot.”
Continuing their evolution with an album that proves the best art isn’t always born from pain, but often from exploration, Coup De Grâce is a vital step forward for SeeYouSpaceCowboy. A record that kicks down all doors and delivers a fearless statement on self-expression, the future is somewhat undetermined for Connie and her bandmates but one thing’s for sure, if the world is going up in flames - they’ll meet you on the dancefloor.
“Selfishly, I want this album to showcase myself as a creative director and show bands that a record can be more than just music,” Connie finishes.
“This is the weirdest thing this band has ever done, and it’s okay to write songs that are completely fucking different. We can write a song without a breakdown if we want, and there's so much freedom now. Who knows where we’ll go next? I don’t, but I’m damn excited to find out.”
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Coinciding with the release of Coup De Grâce, SeeYouSpaceCowboy hit the road for their spring tour supporting Better Lovers, flanked by Foreign Hands, and Greyhaven.
The 20-date trek culminates with a special appearance for SeeYouSpaceCowboy at this year’s Sound and Fury Festival in Los Angeles in mid-July. A complete list of live dates and cities can be found below.
