With a clutch of EPs already under their belts, London quartet Italia 90 certainly know what they’re all about – or, more specifically, what they’re against. They return today with news of a new 7″, which arrives on April 16, but the A-side, “Borderline”, is online now. They say:
“‘Borderline’ takes aim at the failed third-way ideology that led to our present political moment. ‘the thing you created / is the thing you have hated’ takes to task the hegemonic establishment for its complicity in the very brutality it claims to speak against.”
There’s an edge and itchiness to “Borderline” right from the off, as twanging guitars ping off grumbling bass, setting the scene for Les Miserable’s streetwise voice to come in and cut things down to size: “down the path of least resistance / into a hell of your own making.” Italia 90 aren’t just here to attack though, as “Borderline”‘s guitar and rhythm interplay keeps changing up, giving it a danceable groove that suddenly morphs into moshpit-inducing mayhem in the shout along chorus: “the thing you’ve created / is the thing that you hated.” Channeling amorphous dissatisfaction into a uniting anthem, Italia 90 continue to carve a niche for themselves with “Borderline”.
Listen to “Borderline” below or on your preferred streaming platform.
Italia 90’s new 7″, “Borderline” / “Declare” comes out on April 16 via Brace Yourself Records (pre-order from Bandcamp). You can find the band on Twitter and Instagram.
