CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE ISSUE 2: PLATFORM

KERMES
Pretty Names, full of urgency and
tumult and sheer loudness, something
that defines their live shows
like nothing else.
“I think because we started so quiet
and slow and almost folky, that was
part of why I started screaming,”
Emily says. “You’re just trying to
get people to listen, trying to make
yourself heard. Volume is a radical,
political act.”
Experiencing a visceral connection
with someone in the crowd, that
‘same hat!’ feeling when you recognize
yourself in another human
being, especially when you’re a minority
in a crowd, is a big goal for
their shows. “Sometimes at gigs,
you’ll just see a person who’s really
into it and, not to stereotype, but
they’re obviously queer,” Emily
explains. “They’ve got an undercut
or colored hair or something, and
you just make eye contact and it’s
like, yeah, this is a shared moment
of just understanding.” Feeling less
alone in a crowd full of people who
might not understand or accept you
encourages these people, especially
younger people, to put themselves
out there more, to have more fun if
they observe other people they re
Kermes playing The Red Shed at Wakefield’s
Long Division Festival, June 2018