The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford has released music with his brand new hardcore band Valley Girl.
On January 18, Valley Girl uploaded their 4-track demo to YouTube without sharing any details as to who they were. The only details that were posted in the video’s caption were credits that revealed the demo was produced by bigwig hardcore producer/musician Taylor Young (Nails, Twitching Tongues, God’s Hate) and featured drums from his brother/frequent collaborator Colin.
Valley Girl’s first performance was on Saturday (January 27), opening a six-band bill at Midnight Hour in San Fernando, CA. It was then revealed that the band’s frontman was Rutherford himself. The singer is best known for the viral hit ‘Sweater Weather’ and being the former ex of Billie Eilish.
Fans of the new hardcore group took to social media to express their shock to learn that the ‘Daddy Issues’ singer was the frontman of Valley Girl. “I love how everyone liked the Valley Girl release until they found out Jesse Rutherford was doing the vocals lmaooo,” said one X/Twitter user while another wrote: “Imagine how awesome the hardcore scene would be without all the angry gatekeepers in the comments trying to ruin everything in the scene. I think this is awesome having new folks like Jesse get in and make noise like we need more of this.”
Cosmic Joke’s frontman Mac Miller – not to be confused with the late rapper and was one of the other bands that performed alongside Valley Girl on Saturday – took to his X/Twitter account to defend Rutherford.
“Maaaan I really didn’t wanna get into this shit but- 1. Jess started going to shows with me over 15 years ago and had played it low key because he didn’t want to be taking attention. 2. Reasonable to hate on any band for the music but insane to make it personal with a stranger. 3. Valley Girl moved quietly and announced on the show anonymously so people would come out strictly for the music. They opened a 6 band bill and supported every other act. At the end of the day I just wanted to have my friends play our show, and I’m glad I did. They belong here.”
In other news, back in 2022, The Neighbourhood cut ties with drummer Brandon Fried, following accusations that he sexually assaulted singer María Zardoya.
Zardoya, who serves as the lead singer of indie pop band The Marías, raised the allegation on November 14, 2022 in a message posted to her Instagram Story. Hours after raising the accusation, The Neighbourhood responded to Zardoya’s claims via social media, beginning a statement by writing that they were “grateful to Maria for coming forward.” The band – which also includes guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margot and vocalist Jesse Rutherford – then declared they “have zero tolerance for any kind of inappropriate behaviour towards women”.
The band concluded the statement by confirming Fried’s departure: “As a result of Brandon’s actions, he will no longer be a member of The Neighbourhood.”
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