Legendary punk-rock outfit and global political activists, Pussy Riot have self-released "RIOT," their fourth single of 2020. The open-membership guerilla art performers have been vocal since 2011, and have received immense, continuous government pushback for their efforts. This single comes in response to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the arrest of band member, Peter Verzilov. Verzilov was one of four arrested after Pussy Riot stormed the pitch of the 2018 Fifa World Cup final and, after being allegedly poisoned by the Russian government, was arrested again for swearing on June 22nd.
Riot recruit German IDM artist, IXXF to try and sketch this tumultuous moment. Raw, grinding synth leads, bombastic, doom bass, and desperate vocal deliveries paint an apocalyptic sonic soundscape. Lyrics like "sex is great but have you ever fucked the system," paired with impressionistic "boom, boom, boom's" and scattered gunshots burn frantically for its brief 1.49 second run time.
Unfortunately, this series of arrests and uncertainty is not unique for the group. As of July 7th, Verzilov has been released from his fifteen-day prison sentence only to be again charged with a new criminal case, this time concerning a failure to register a foreign passport. Pussy Riot are constantly planning, releasing, or promoting something worthwhile, and can be followed on their YouTube channel.
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