London,UK-based alternative songwriter Justin Schlosberg, aka AUGUST SPIES, is pleased to announce his debut solo EP, titled Corruption of The Human Heart, and set for release on 6th May 2019—including a limited edition 10” coloured vinyl version—accompanied by a string of forthcoming live shows to be announced soon.
Preorder now from: https://tinyurl.com/AugustCOTHH
The lead single, ‘This Is How It Ends’, is available on all streaming services now, and comes with an accompanying video created by Schlosberg, who explains of the concept behind the track, “It’s a song about love and loss, life and death, light and dark, everyday failure and ultimate triumph. It’s been hovering round my head and in my guts for the best part of 20 years and I couldn’t make it go away. I must be one of the slowest, laziest songwriters in the world.”
Named after the 19th century ‘mayday’ union activist from Chicago, August Spies is a brand new project from Schlosberg, front man of cult UK post-hardcore band Hell is for Heroes, who released three acclaimed albums in the early 2000s and gained notoriety for their utterly compelling live performances.
After illness and injuries took their toll, the band receded and lay dormant for over a decade. Reforming in 2018—playing to their biggest ever audiences—and selling out two nights at London’s legendary Shepherds Bush Empire to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their debut album, the reunion was hailed as a “triumphant” return by The Independent in a sparkling review.
So, what happened to HIFH during those wilderness years? For one, the band’s lead singer Justin Schlosberg received a PhD, became immersed in radical left-wing politics, and eventually started to write love songs. The result is his forthcoming debut EP, Corruption of the Human Heart: a suitably epic statement of life, love and death, which Shlosberg describes as “post-everything” and “pure songwriting”.
Specialising in a strain of brooding, expansive songwriting in the vein of John Grant, Tom Waits, and Nick Cave, the rare new material from Schlosberg shows a completely different side to the firebrand front man than HIFH fans will have seen before, and leaves no stone unturned in its unflinching examination of the human condition.
Co-produced by Pelle Henricsson (whose credits include Refused’s legendary Shape of Punk to Come album), the EP tells a story of addiction, recovery, tragic romance and political meltdown; at once both intimately personal and universal—a collection of bittersweet love anthems for embattled souls.
