Melbourne’s Sex Mask return with snarling new single ‘Raid’

Melbourne’s reigning post-punk menace Sex Mask have returned, and they didn’t come empty-handed. The trio is back with a brand new single, Raid, the lead cut from their upcoming EP ‘Raid’, landing 31st July via Unpopular. And because one good thing deserves company, they’ve also unleashed two remixes — courtesy of Japanese black metal gabber chaos agents Violent Magic Orchestra, and B-Mo.

This is the follow-up to last year’s widely-loved ‘Body Broker’ EP, which saw the band carve out their own corner of early 80s industrial, no-wave, and absurdist punk — and rack up over 2.5 million streams in the process. Sex Mask is the work of Vicente Moncada (drums/production), Wry Gray (vocals/lyrics), and Kaya Martin (guitars/synths), a self-contained unit that’s landed on NME’s 100 and Dork’s Hype list, with co-signs from DIY, Kerrang!, Notion, The Independent, The Line Of Best Fit, and So Young.

Raid finds the band at their most adrenalized — tight, snarling guitar work, muscular drums, and Gray repeating the track’s defiant mantra like a mission statement. But there’s new ground here too: more pronounced synths and electronics, occasionally drifting into motorik, psych-tinged territory.

“Raid is delusional monologues. When someone should have helped but didn’t, so you have to help yourself. You Raid.“

The remixes flip the script entirely. B-Mo pulls Raid toward the basement club — jungle-inflected drums, driving groove, euphoric synth work. Violent Magic Orchestra goes the other direction, into high-tempo industrial and EBM stomp that’s somehow both ethereal and brutal at once.

‘Raid’ EP track list

1. Raid
2. Lockjaw
3. Sweat
4. TYFU

Pre-order here — out 31st July via Unpopular

On the Road

Sex Mask’s live show has already put them onstage with Fcukers, Big Special, and Fat White Family, plus stops at Dot To Dot, The Great Escape, and SXSW (both Austin and Australia). This summer they’re heading out on their own headline run across Europe and the UK, with stops at End Of The Road, Reeperbahn, and Manchester Psych Festival. A new one-off Athens show (hosted by the Plissken Festival team) and a Pitchfork Paris appearance round out a busy November.

Tour Dates:

AUS
Sun 12.07 — King Street Crawl, Sydney

UK/EU — Aug/Sep
Thu 27.08 — The Grand Social, Dublin IE
Sat 29.08 — Zerox, Newcastle UK
Sun 30.08 — Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh UK
Wed 02.09 — Oporto, Leeds UK
Thu 03.09 — The George Tavern, London UK
Fri 04.09 — Brighton Psych Festival, Brighton UK
Sat 05.09 — Manchester Psych Festival, Manchester UK
Sun 06.09 — End Of The Road, Salisbury UK
Thu 10.09 — The Hope & Ruin, Brighton UK
Fri 11.09 — 013 Hall Of Fame, Tilburg NL
Sat 12.09 — Simplon, Groningen NL
Sun 13.09 — Leffingeleuren Festival, Middelkerke BE
Tue 15.09 — Helios37, Köln DE
Wed 16.09 — Ilses Erika, Leipzig DE
Thu 17.09 — Urban Spree, Berlin DE
Fri 18.09 — Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg DE
Sat 19.09 — Stengade, Copenhagen DK

AUS
Sun 04.10 — Yours & Owls, Wollongong

UK/EU — Nov
Sun 08.11 — Pitchfork Paris, Paris FR
Fri 13.11 — Pomanteo (Plissken Festival Presents), Athens GR

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