Cry Club are officially in their feral era. The Naarm electro-punks have announced their hotly anticipated third album High Voltage Anxiety, landing March 27, 2026 – and they’ve kicked the door clean off the hinges with fresh cut, ‘Retaliate’.
The track is a scorched-earth blast of industrial pop rage, with vocalist Heather Riley (they/them) calling it “a torch-and-pitchfork party soundtrack.” Lyrically, the tune takes aim at the cost-of-living crisis and the ever-widening wealth gap – “Nothing’s a risk if you’re rich!” – channelling fury into something that feels equal parts protest chant and sweaty warehouse rave.
Cry Club – ‘Retailate’
Heather says it’s all about trying to outrun the creeping sense of hopelessness that comes with existing in late-stage capitalism, following on thematically from recent singles like title track ‘High Voltage Anxiety’ and the rallying cry of ‘This, Forever’.
What makes this record hit harder is that High Voltage Anxiety is Cry Club’s first fully self-recorded, self-produced and self-engineered album. No middle-men, no compromises – just Heather and guitarist Jonathon Tooke (he/him) taking their sweet time to figure out how to “hold onto hope in a clenched fist.”
Heather says it’s the most “us” they’ve ever sounded: furious, frustrated, but also reflective of how much the band has grown and the people who’ve shaped them along the way. “We are so angry because we love and care about this world so much,” they explain. “That love drives us to demand better from the people trying to do harm to what we’ve all built.”
For Jonathon, the new album finally gives Cry Club a name for their sound: “industrial pop” – the intensity of punk and industrial music, wrapped around their unwavering love of pop song structures.
It follows a huge 18 months that’s seen the duo tour Europe for the first time, join The Darkness on their Aussie run, and support the likes of WAAX and Stand Atlantic, all while clocking over 2.5 million Spotify streams and cementing their status as one of the country’s most thrilling and singular acts.
You can pre-order their forthcoming High Voltage Anxiety LP here, or stream new single ‘Retaliate’ up above.
Further Reading
Cry Club on How to Navigate the Music Industry Post-Covid
Rachel Maria Cox: My Favourite LGBTQIA+ Pop Songs
Cry Club Celebrate Pride Month With ‘People Like Me’ Music Video
