Bristol group LICE have released their new single âArbiterâ via their own label SETTLED LAW.
This follows the bandâs acclaimed returning single âConveyorâ, which was lauded by the likes of The Guardian and Loud and Quiet, receiving radio play from Radio 1âs Jack Saunders and Huw Stephens, 6 Musicâs Steve Lamacq and Radio Xâs John Kennedy. This was followed by LICEâs debut headline tour (supported by Norman and Wych Elm), partially postponed due to Covid-19.
LICE first rose to acclaim for their line in angular satirical punk, performing with the likes of The Fall, Fat White Family, Shame and Psychic TV. In 2018 IDLES, who took LICE on the Brutalism and Unity tours, released LICEâs âearly-yearsâ collection on their label Balley Records as the Double EP It All Worked Out Great Vol.1+2. This was praised by the likes of The Quietus and Loud and Quiet, who declared them âthe most exciting, inspiring, and genuinely deranged new guitar band in the countryâ.
Growing disillusioned with the punk worldâs self-serving narratives and sonic conservatism, LICE spent much of 2019 developing a new brand of satirical music. Rejecting punkâs absolute stances (âfuck the Toriesâ, âfuck racistsâ etc.), which conceal bias in progressives and impede persuasion of reactionaries, LICE would present the fluidity of moral stances, the violence of crowds, and the iniquities of the art world. Marrying a complex new sound (imbibing Bristolâs thriving industrial/ avant-garde scene) with warped Burroughsian vignettes, LICE introduce the character arc to the song lyric, the introspective moment to popular satire, and a more constructive, transgressive model to punk.
‘Arbiter’ is out now via SETTLED LAW