They only released 15 minutes of music, but D.I.Y. punk five-piece G.L.O.S.S. might have been the most important hardcore act of the 2010s. Obtaining prominence during 2015 in the unfortunate wake of transphobic comments attributed to the nü-gaze band Whirr via Twitter (the band maintains that a friend wrote the offensive tweets), G.L.O.S.S. and the merciless ripostes of frontwoman Sadie Switchblade earned their breakneck riffage instant respect for their uncompromising ideals.
On their debut anthem, "G.L.O.S.S. (We're From the Future)," she screamed the various ways her people are misgendered and insulted, and ultimately declare themselves independent of "society's shit." With all band members identifying as queer and trans, the band's existence dovetailed with such horrific events as North Carolina's discriminatory HB2 bill barring transgender people from using the bathroom of their chosen identity, and the LGBT-targeted massacre at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. It was just one day after the latter tragedy this June that G.L.O.S.S. released their incredible second EP, pointedly titled Trans Day of Revenge. Songs such as "Give Violence a Chance" and the title tune courageously (and tumultuously) declared war on transphobes and bigots who expect people like this band to live their oppressed lives in fear. Fuck that.

Sadly, today the almost instantaneous legends gave a lengthy statement to MaximumRocknRoll that they'll be splitting up:

Hey y’all, G.L.O.S.S. has decided to break up and move on with our lives. We all remain close friends, but are at a point where we need to be honest about the toll this band is taking on the mental and physical health of some of us. We are not all high-functioning people, and operating at this level of visibility often feels like too much. We want to measure success in terms of how we’ve been able to move people and be moved by people, how we’ve been able to grow as individuals. This band has become too large and unwieldy to feel sustainable or good anymore — the only thing growing at this point is the cult of personality surrounding us, which feels unhealthy. There is constant stress, and traveling all the time is damaging our home lives, keeping us from personal growth and active involvement in our communities. Being in the mainstream media, where total strangers have a say in something we’ve created for other queer people, is exhausting.

The punk we care about isn’t supposed to be about getting big or becoming famous, it’s supposed to be about challenging ourselves and each other to be better people. It feels hard to be honest and inward when we are constantly either put on a pedestal or torn down, worshipped or demonized. We want to be whole people, not one-dimensional cartoons.

We are so thankful for everyone who has supported us and taken the time to tell us what we mean to you. If this band was for you, you know who you are, and no one can take that away. We will be playing Not Dead Yet Fest in Toronto in October, and planning one final show in the northwest with details to come. All of the money we make on Bandcamp after our break-up will be donated to the Interfaith Works Emergency Overnight Shelter, a low-barrier homeless shelter in Olympia, WA. Our records will remain in print.

Thank you for understanding why we have decided to put this down. While we know it might be sad for a lot of you, please understand that it is sad for us, too, but also relieving and nurturing. Ending the band is the right thing to do if we want to have healthy personal lives. (On that tip, while we appreciate your support so much, please don’t email us asking us not to break up or asking us about merch.)

We are eternally grateful for the people we have met and the places we have been due to G.L.O.S.S. Making these connections has been deeply rewarding and meaningful. Thank you so much for everything over the past year and a half.

Sharing this experience with you all has truly meant the world to us.

With love,
Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit

This bummer comes on the heels of the news that they turned down a $50,000 record deal with Epitaph for ethical reasons. They're continuing to play their scheduled set at Toronto's Not Dead Yet Fest in October, and one final show TBD in the Northwest. Switchblade is expected to continue on with her more Replacements-esque project Dyke Drama, who released last year's excellent Tender Resignation and this year's more Americana-inflected Up Against the Bricks, but overall, this is a huge L.O.S.S. for politically passionate music fans everywhere who aspire to live outside of society's shit.

 

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