HMRC at THE ENGINE ROOMS NORTH SHIELDS
Thu 29th Oct at 7:00pm-11:00pm
The Engine Room, Tynemouth
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HMRC at THE ENGINE ROOMS NORTH SHIELDS
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HMRC ANNOUNCE ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW AT ENGINE ROOMS, NORTH SHIELDS
With Vice Killer
Newcastle Punk Outfit Mark the Arrival of New Album Cost of Living with Special Hometown Headline Launch Event
NORTH SHIELDS, UK — Tyneside’s fierce political band, HMRC, have anno
unced a headline album launch show at Engine Rooms North Shields on Wednesday, 29th October, celebrating the release of their upcoming studio album, Cost of Living.
Written by lyricist, British citizen, and self-described "member of the proletariat" Lloyd Holmes, Cost of Living is a searing document of modern British societal decay, housing collapse, and class warfare. The October show will mark the band's first official live presentation of the new album in its entirety.
Attendees at the Engine Rooms show will experience the band's expanded live setup following the addition of Lewis Hewitt on guitar. Hewitt’s entry introduces a dense, muscular wall of guitar sound to the band’s driving rhythm section, creating an intense, wall-of-sound backdrop for Holmes' razor-sharp spoken-word and vocal delivery.
The launch event will bring the uncompromising social commentary of Cost of Living directly to the stage:
The Housing Crisis & Structural Decay: Tracks like "Property Ladder" and "Brownsite Slum" unpack the long-term fallout of Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme and the physical, health-damaging impact of damp, neglected housing.
Hostile Architecture: Lyrics in "Hostile Architecture" directly attack defensive urban design engineered to render homelessness invisible and punish the poverty class.
Exploitation in the Logistics Era: "Fulfilment Centre (The Death of Billy Foister)" confronts algorithmic workplace surveillance, union-busting, and the relentless exploitation of gig-economy labor.
State Repression: Tracks such as "Outlaw Peace" take aim at anti-protest legislation and creeping state authoritarianism.
Joining HMRC for this momentous hometown showcase are Vice Killer, a micro-focused political band that deeply embodies the spirit of small-town Northern communities. Hailing from County Durham, Vice Killer give voice to the working people of former industrial heartlands, weaving raw social realism and regional heritage from pit histories to post-industrial struggles into a captivating alternative indie sound. Their inclusion creates a powerful double-bill rooted firmly in Northern working-class solidarity, truth-telling, and political commentary.
Lloyd Holmes has written a small essay delving deeper into the political themes.