Love & Rage: Track by Track with Shooting Daggers

Both scalding and cathartic, the long awaited debut from Shooting Daggers see's the London trio screaming for love, rage and unity in brilliant form.

As their brilliant prior work alluded to, here, Shooting Daggers showcase an organic approach to contemporary UKHC that’s comprised of modern hardcore, punk and riot grrl in order to square up against bigotry, the patriarchy and the male domination of culture. However, it’s also a record of love, one that rallies for intersectional feminism, self-love and reclamation of one’s own power. Whilst the record may exactly be what it says on the tin – an album that sees the band pursuing communal unity and raging against the evils within the world – Love & Rage is far more than just a standard hardcore record. It’s a statement of intent and a rallying call for one and all who are sick of toxic masculinity, oppression and culturally ingrained bigotry.

With the record out now via Heavy New Sounds, we got in touch with Shooting Daggers to break down Love & Rage, track by track.

Dare

‘Dare; is our opening track, we wrote it after our tour with Axe Rash in 2022, they heavily influenced us for that song. We came back to London with their raw d-beat sound in mind and a heart full of love for the people in the punk DIY community who helped us in all sorts of ways during the tour. ‘Dare’ is a song that encourages women and queer people, but everyone really, to take their chance and stop waiting for someone’s approval or to be “good enough” to start doing whatever they truly want to do. D.I.Y. or Die.

Not My Rival

We see ‘Not My Rival’ as a straight to the point punk hardcore anthem that never gets old. The lyrics are about dismantling the male gaze, fighting against the internalised patriarchal messages that we all unconsciously absorb. It’s about breaking the cycle of female rivalry. We want to encourage lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down. In our music video we wanted to showcase that unity and that sorority the Queercore Punk scene have.

Smug

‘Smug’ is one of the songs we’re the most proud of in the album. We really pushed ourselves both in the writing process and in the recording session because we wanted to deliver a “banger”! Funny because this track almost didn’t make the cut in the album because our producer wasn’t really a fan of it. Luckily we didn’t listen to him and now it’s one of our favourites and became a single too! ‘Smug’s’ lyrics are about the hierarchy of the music scene and how important it is to go back to your roots and never forget where you came from/started. For this reason, in the video we highlighted our little community and our favourite spots in SE London.

Wipe Out

‘Wipe Out’ is about the queer skateboarding scene in London. The song’s lyrics were born after a session with friends in Aldgate East. It was during spring and the spot was covered with cherry tree petals. It was such a dreamlike session and it made me think about how fun, powerful and epic skateboarding feels like. Even if it means eating shit and “wipe out” more than actually staying on the board haha. Skateboarding, to me, embodies a collective sense of freedom.

A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser

The song delves into emotional harm, emphasising that if someone inflicts lasting damage, the least they can do is carry a lifelong sense of guilt and remain silent as the repercussions unfold. I think this is an appropriate response to situations of injustice where the harm is irreparable. Fun fact: The first time we heard Sal’s high vocals in the rehearsal room was truly emotional and even made Bea cry. Those notes just hit their core and they started sobbing like a baby.

Tunnel Vision

‘Tunnel Vision’ is about having a clear understanding of your desires and maintaining a hyper focus. Even though tunnel vision refers to a narrow and limited viewpoint on a particular task or goal, often to the extent that one is oblivious to surrounding details or alternative perspectives. In this song it’s more of a positive take on the intense concentration for success. It’s a bit of a “manifestation song” too.

Bad Seeds

‘Bad Seeds’ is a sharp and witty song we wrote to give a fun and raw twist to the album before its ending. It’s a chant to bring women and queer people together and encourage them to stop with this polite, cute and pro-capitalist new feminist wave that we mainly see online and riot instead. We need to get into arguments with people, boycott, call out and demonstrate. We don’t care if we appear ugly or loud or not feminine enough by doing that, we only care about smashing the patriarchy.

Love & Rage

This track is definitely the most melodic/emo of the album. We actually wrote it on a day where all three of us were synchronised on our menstrual cycles so we were particularly emotional on that day and you can tell! We wrote this song before giving its name to the title of the album. It’s all about “Turning the pain into power” using this energy and channelling it into creative ways that heals

Caves/Outro

Caves is about “Plato’s Cave” allegory and how our perception of reality can be superficial, and true knowledge is gained when turning away from the bubble we live in and toward the outside world. The cave symbolises the world of appearances, and breaking free represents enlightenment and the pursuit of higher truths. Opening your eyes to genocides, war crimes, animal cruelty, capitalism is step one from change.

Love & Rage is out now via New Heavy Sounds. Purchase the record here.

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