When The Hormones embarked on their debut China tour back in 2014, bringing the dark, cerebral pop-punk of their Elephant EP to cities outside Chengdu for the first time, audiences hadn’t seen anything quite like them.
Their hypnotic single, ‘Elephant,’ is based on a news report from that year and written from the perspective of the animal, who had mysteriously returned to trample the wife of a farmer in Yunnan after he’d killed the elephant’s baby. “When I read this story, I was very sad,” explains bass player and main songwriter Wang Minghui (or Mingming), who’s been with the band since its founding in 2011 at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. “Sad about the occurrence of this tragedy, and about the lack of understanding between different forms of life. So I imagined myself as an elephant ready to go to the village for revenge.”
Bolstered by the 2014 tour and the positive response to their unique EP, The Hormones landed a spot on the TV show Bands of China that same year, which became both a blessing and a curse. “When we participated in the television program, it was followed by more temptations and choices,” says vocalist Zhu Mengdie, referring to a period in which the band was worried about selling out as their notoriety grew quickly. “We were very confused – we wanted to stay true to our music, but we also wanted more attention. Our bandmembers all had different opinions, and some left, so we were all sad.”
A long hiatus ensued, followed by a change in the line-up, which included the departure of their founding member Xiao Xue. After recruiting two new members, the band channeled this period of turmoil into their sophomore effort, which is self-titled, perhaps as an affirmation of their new cohesiveness and identity as a band. “The Hormones album is actually a record of our emotional experience during these two years.” says Zhu. “The song ‘Beckon’ is meant to decribe our feelings about that time.”
The lead single off the album, ‘Beckon’ (招手) is haunting and pared-down compared to the songs on Elephant, displaying a poignant emotional vulnerability. The band have moved away from their more dance-oriented roots (one of their earliest influences was LCD Soundsystem), but retained their uncompromising perspective, which Mingming describes as “punk’s female voice,” in the vein of Le Tigre.
“We started to remove any complicated samples, and kept the actual sound of the instrument, making interesting changes from thee,” she explains. “For example, in the song ‘Lhasa River’ (拉萨河), the producer made a sound effect by holding an electric razor near the guitar while we played.”
As an all-girl band, The Hormones have faced their share of stereotyping; indeed, we came across some cringe-worthy coverage of them in our research, including a video from 2014 introducing their performance with a lame joke about Chengdu’s “hot food and hotter women.” Their promo material for the new album explains that they’ve always “hated the idea of being reduced to just eye candy.”
“Others would think that being seen as a good female band is enough, but our goal is to make really good music, and not let anyone put us to a fixed standard,” says Zhu. “This view is disappointing.”
Overcoming both this oversimplification as a ‘girl band’ and the personal turmoil of the post-Elephant period, The Hormones are embarking on a new China tour this month with an even clearer identity and more personal approach to their songs.
“This album is a change in our state and our consciousness,” concludes drummer Zhou Lijuan. “I think the best part is that the tour of these 20 cities will enable more people to meet us and understand our music.”.
Listen to The Hormones here.
Shanghai: Mar 31, 8.30pm, Yuyintang, see event listing.
Beijing: Apr 14, 8.30pm, Yugong Yishan, see event listing.
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