Liverpool’s THE DSM IV Reveal New Single ‘PINK LADY’
Liverpool’s THE DSM IV Reveal New Single ‘PINK LADY’ - out now
Stream and share - https://thedsmiv.ffm.to/pinklady
New EP NEGATIVE UTOPIA Out Now On Vinyl via 9x9 Records
Stream and share - https://thedsmiv.ffm.to/negativeutopia
2025 UK FAMILY JEWELS TOUR Headline Dates on Sale Now
Debut Album NEW AGE PARANOIA Out Now via 9x9 Records
Stream and share - https://tr.ee/OdE4QCQUUf
Purchase - https://www.9x9records.co.uk/shop
Liverpool gothic alt-pop trio THE DSM IV are pleased to release their new EP, NEGATIVE UTOPIA, which is out now via local independent label heroes 9x9 Records, available on vinyl and all good digital service providers, with new single ‘PINK LADY’ also out now.
Following recent shows alongside HUMANIST, Jemma Freeman & The Cosmic Something and ARXX, the band recently announced a new run of early 2025 UK headline tour dates, with tickets on sale now, and several fresh dates added today (see below for listings).
Commenting on the track, front man Guy McKnight says: “PINK LADY is a tribute to the life of Rae Pinx. Tragically she died suddenly in an accident. She was the long term partner of my ex-band mate in The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster, Marc Norris. She was a multidisciplinary artist, including being a great and much published live music photographer, and also a full time tattoo artist. She was passionate about many kinds of alternative music and was also a Bruce Springsteen aficionado. It’s one of the first songs we three wrote together as THE DSM IV.”
‘WISE GUY’ comes backed by AA side ‘PENNYWISE’, a deep cut from their debut album NEW AGE PARANOIA which was released earlier in 2024.
Formed in Liverpool in 2018 by former Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster frontman Guy McKnight, THE DSM IV crystallise the ultra real and the otherworldly, bringing a focused hyperrealism to the party. Their convention-defying live performances toy with audience expectations and stimulate questions of the narratives being sold to us as news—or entertainment—all to the beat of the drum machinist.
As if pontificating from a lectern, McKnight sings and gesticulates like his life depends on it, his lyrics enticing or lacerating depending on the mood. In an age of perversion of reality, THE DSM IV poetically reflect on our world’s hypocrisies and dilemmas, with danceability, intelligence, indignation, grace & style—refreshing purity for these polluted times.
“We’re inspired by a lot of stuff like books, certain artists and painters,” says McKnight of the band’s world, “but for me personally, especially by film. Directors, photography, film scores. Different aspects. I think it’s always healthy to have a recognition or uncomfortable embrace of the dark crises that everyone experiences from time to time in our creativity, and confront some of the taboos and blind spots that have haunted human beings throughout history. Particularly now, in this social media generation, it’s becoming increasingly important.”
Growing up in the ‘90s on the notorious Grizedale Estate in Liverpool, THE DSM IV’s incendiary guitarist Jade O has a lifetime of inspiration to draw on. With the debut album cover featuring a photograph of a bar of soap from her Nan Moe’s mantle piece which one of her cousins recently carved whilst in jail, their origins and lived experiences are real. Incidentally, the back cover is a footprint in concrete from a beloved “110” (Nike Air 95s) which are synonymous with the city, so-monikered by locals because that’s how much they cost when they first came out.
When drummer Pav Cummins walked into the clothes emporium where Jade and Guy work on the hunt for denims, McKnight instantly knew that this rake-thin, medieval-looking percussionist was the answer to his prayers; a handsome doppelgänger of ‘Naked’-era actor David Thewlis. Perfect! Drum machines were invested in, no persuasion necessary.
After a long gestational period giving rise to a string of stand-alone singles, the band finally released their formidable, uncompromising debut album, NEW AGE PARANOIA—recorded at The Libertines’ HQ at The Albion Rooms, Margate—in 2023, following tours with Sleaford Mods, The Libertines, and Dream Wife.
“It’s interesting and problematic how much of our entertainment plays into our fears,” says McKnight of the album title’s meaning. “New Age Paranoia is really a kind of observation about the time we live in, and a lot of those observations are taken from the media.”
Stand-alone 2024 single ‘White Wolf’ carried on the momentum, with a forthcoming EP of as yet unreleased demos and remixes, NEGATIVE UTOPIA, scheduled for 2025 on new independent label home 9x9 Records—an as-yet unheard part of the band’s musical explorations and experimentations in preparation for the debut album.
New EP NEGATIVE UTOPIA is out now via 9x9 Records
FAMILY JEWELS TOUR LIVE DATES:
29.01.25 - Manchester - Night & Day
31.01.25 - London - Shacklewell Arms (Black Bordello special guest supporting)
01.02.25 - Norwich - Voodoo Daddys
07.02.25 - Liverpool - Rough Trade (EP release show)
08.02.25 - Preston - The Ferret (Whingefest)
20.02.25 - Coventry - The Tin @ The Coal Vaults (w/ Rats on Rafts)
21.02.25 - Nottingham - The Grove
23.02.25 - Todmorden - The Golden Lion
01.03.25 - Brighton - Green Door Store (co-headline w/ Baba Ali)
21.03.25 - Newcastle - Cumberland Arms
NEGATIVE UTOPIA EP tracklist:
1. PINK LADY
2. PRAY LIKE A FOOL
3. WISE GUY
4. RACIST MAN RMX
5. ISOLATION
6. PENNYWISE HOLOGRAM COWBOY RMX
THE DSM IV online:
https://linktr.ee/thedsmiv
https://www.instagram.com/the_dsm_iv
https://www.facebook.com/thedsm4
THE DSM IV are:
Guy McKnight - lyrics and vocals
Jade Ormesher - guitars and bass
Pav Cummins - drum machine and synths
More about NEW AGE PARANOIA:
THE DSM IV's debut LP, NEW AGE PARANOIA, is an album that seamlessly brings together kaleidoscopic reflections about joy and pain, sin and shame.
At once sobering and dream-filled, these songs bear witness to the ways in which our collective minds’ eyes are being projected upon by mass media. As they portray a frightening world, and entertainment industries capitalise on our morbid curiosities by indulging and fetishising our obsession with violence and death—romanticising depravity to the point of near canonisation—social media's ever encroaching presence continues to influence the way we think about ourselves, others, and our desire for validation.
It all begs the question: what's fuelling the normalisation of a narcissistic culture, which values the pursuit of personal desires over altruism and contributive living? Big brother's in your pocket. But why be paranoid?
Day to day we leave our digital footprints everywhere. We can be traced, followed, listened to, recorded, and at the same time we are being programmed to view the world and our fellow human beings in a certain way via the lies of the mass media & our entertainment industries, courtesy of our phones.
Stay paranoid!
AA Single ‘WISE GUY’/’PENNYWISE’ Out Now:
Stream and share - https://thedsmiv.ffm.to/wiseguy-pennywise
