DITZ address the commodification of queer culture with new single ‘Four’ ahead of their imminent second album

DITZ are teasing their new album ‘Never Exhale’, set for release via Republic Of Music/Domino Publishing, sharing new single ‘Four’.

The track arrives ahead of the Brighton band’s forthcoming second album, due 24th January, which follows their 2022 debut ‘The Great Regression’.

The new single was written during a break from touring, as vocalist C.A. Francis explains: “It’s one of the few songs we’ve ever done that was finished before we started playing it. We first jammed on it together in the back of a cafe in Worcester on the way back from a show up north. The place has a tiny room specially made for bands to practice in.”

Francis continues: “The lyrics refer to the commodification of queer culture. These big corporations are always trying to score points with the widest audience possible. Whether it’s drag queens advertising fast fashion or gay CEO’s, I see all of these people as sell outs. Do you think Divine would have advertised for H&M? Do you think Alan Turing would have been high up in some Silicon Valley tech company? Do you think James Baldwin would have written for Pink News? I doubt it. I think we should claim some dignity back. Then again, maybe I’m a cynic. Maybe it’s a sign of acceptance that queer people can be the villain rather than just some oppressed class. It just doesn’t sound like the kind of acceptance that I think is acceptable.”

The album was recorded at Holy Mountain studios in London and mixed by Seth Manchester. The band – completed by Anton Mocock (guitar), Sam Evans (drums), Jack Looker (guitar) and Caleb Remnant (bass) – formed in 2015 after Francis, Mocock and Remnant attended a METZ and Lightning Bolt show at Brighton’s Concorde 2.

Their dates in full read:

JANUARY
24 Resident, Brighton, UK
25 Banquet, Kingston, UK
26 Vinilo, Southampton, UK
26 Rough Trade East, London, UK
27 Rough Trade, Bristol, UK

FEBRUARY
6 Sala El Sol, Madrid, Spain
7 Sala Upload, Barcelona, Spain
10 Lido, Berlin, Germany
12 Hus, Stockholm, Sweden
13 Huset-KBH, Copenhagen, Denmark
14 Kent Club, Hamburg, Germany
15 UT Connewitz, Leipzig, Germany
17 Chumury, Warsaw, Poland
18 Cafe V Lese, Prague, Czech
19 Rhiz, Vienna, Austria
20 Kranhalle, Munich, Germany
22 Bogen F, Zurich, Switzerland
23 Arci Belleza, Milan, Italy
25 Club Transbo, Lyon, France
26 Astrolabe, Orleans, France
27 Antipode, Rennes, France

MARCH
1 La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
2 Rotonde, Brussels, Belgium
3 Rowtown, Rotterdam, Netherlands
4 Gebaude 9, Cologne, Germany
5 Rockhal, Esch-zur-Alzette, Luxembourg
6 Paradiso THT, Amsterdam, Netherlands
7 Vera, Gronigen, Netherlands
8 L’Aeronef, Lille, France
25 Hug & Pint, Glasgow, UK
26 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK
27 Bodega, Nottingham, UK
28 Yellow Arch, Sheffield, UK
29 Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich, UK

APRIL
1 YES Pink Room, Manchester, UK
2 Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK
3 The Garage, London, UK
4 Chalk, Brighton, UK
7 Control Club, Bucharest, Romania
8 Pave Club, Sofia, Bulgaria
9 Rover Bar, Thessaloniki, Greece
10 Arch Club, Athens, Greece
11 Zō Centro Culture Contemporanee, Catania, Italy
12 Wishlist, Roma, Italy