Formed and fronted by the mystical Guy McKnight of the much revered and critically acclaimed cult favourite, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster,The DSM IV have shared their new album 'New Age Paranoia'.
The band’s new album seamlessly brings together stories, beats, guitars, and noise in an inspiring collection of kaleidoscopic reflections about right and wrong, dark and light, joy and pain, sin and shame, all at once like a sobering yet intoxicatingly dream filled.
Created in Liverpool in 2019 the band have won over audiences all over the UK and Europe with their idiosyncratic musical character getting unsuspecting audiences hyped to hysteria with their strangely seductive,noise-rock, synth-pop industrial sound that delivers nothing short of a unique musical experience. Their music is cacophonous and epic, featuring rich textures and melodic hooks that keep listeners captivated and the band have proved themselves stadium worthy in their own right, following their tours with The Sleaford Mods and The Libertines.
The DSM IV take their name from the ‘Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders vol IV’, as used by the American Psychiatric Association. Guy’s interest in the manual was born out of his experiences in dealing with his own mental health; stating, “Mental health problems still carry so much stigma, through ignorance, fear, misunderstanding and intolerance. While I’m not necessarily an advocate as such for the limited categorisation, labelling and medicating of people, I’ve no doubt saved a lot of people too. The manual can be a contentious subject. Illness is part of the human condition and the reality of life and death. It’s not something to be looked down on.”
The DSM IV are a band who create music with a message that resonates with people who feel that a kinder world is possible. Their songs are emotive and thought-provoking whilst being thoroughly entertaining at the same time. With 'New Age Paranoia', The DSM IV have crafted an album that will captivate and inspire listeners, while also prompting deeper reflection on society’s values and priorities.
Guy McKnight has said of the album. “These tunes bear witness to how our collective minds eyes are being projected upon by the mass media, as they portray a frightening world to scare and divide us, and entertainment industries that capitalise on our morbid curiosities by indulging and fetishising our obsession with violence and death, romanticising depravity to the point of near canonisation, as well as social media’s ever encroaching presence which continues to influence the way we think about ourselves and others and our desire for adoration. Begging the question, what’s fuelling the normalisation of a narcissistic culture, which values the pursuit of personal desires over altruism and contributive living? Big brother’s in your pocket. But why be paranoid?”
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