Preoccupations

In 2010, the band Women entered an indefinite hiatus after an onstage fight.{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/40559-women-cancel-tour-after-clashing-onstage/ | title=Women Cancel Tour After Clashing Onstage | publisher=Pitchfork | date=November 1, 2010 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Dombal, Ryan}} That band's guitarist, Christopher Reimer, died in 2012.{{cite web | url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/02/r-i-p-christopher-reimer-of-women/ | title=R.I.P. Christopher Reimer (of Women) | publisher=Consequence of Sound | date=February 22, 2012 | accessdate=May 6, 2014}}{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/45510-rip-women-guitarist-christopher-reimer/ | title=R.I.P. Women Guitarist Christopher Reimer | publisher=Pitchfork | date=February 22, 2012 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Pelly, Jenn}} Following Reimer's death and the disbanding of Women, ex-Women bassist Flegel decided to form a new band with guitarist Munro (formerly of Lab Coast); the two had recently toured together as live musicians for Chad VanGaalen. They recruited ex-Women drummer Wallace and guitarist Christiansen (the latter previously performed in a Black Sabbath cover band alongside Flegel and Wallace).{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/9353-viet-cong/ | title=Rising: Viet Cong | publisher=Pitchfork | date=March 13, 2014 | accessdate=May 6, 2014}}

The band's debut EP, a self-released cassette, was issued in 2013.

The band performed at SXSW festival in 2014,{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/sxsw-friday-round-up-bully-happy-diving-viet-cong-gang-of-youths | title=SXSW Friday Round-Up: Bully, Happy Diving, Viet Cong, Gang Of Youths | publisher=NME | date=March 15, 2014 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Garrett, Jonathan}} and then signed to Canadian record label Flemish Eye.{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/News/women_offshoot_viet_cong_sign_to_flemish_eye | title=Women Offshoot Viet Cong Sign to Flemish Eye | publisher=Exclaim! | date=March 10, 2014 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Adams, Gregory}} The band's cassette release was reissued by Mexican Summer on vinyl on July 8, 2014.{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/55064-viet-cong-announce-cassette-ep-reissue-share-oxygen-feed/ | title=Viet Cong Announce "Cassette" EP Reissue, Share "Oxygen Feed" | publisher=Pitchfork | date=May 6, 2014 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Minsker, Evan}}

The band released their debut album, Viet Cong, on January 20, 2015, on Jagjaguwar and Flemish Eye.{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/57085-viet-cong-announce-debut-lp-share-continental-shelf-announce-tour/ | title=Viet Cong Announce Debut LP, Share "Continental Shelf", Announce Tour | publisher=Pitchfork | date=October 15, 2014 | accessdate=October 15, 2014 | author=Minsker, Evan}} The band announced plans for a North American and European tour to promote the album.{{cite web | url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/10/viet-cong-share-new-song-continental-shelf-listen/ | title=Viet Cong share new song "Continental Shelf" — listen | publisher=Consequence of Sound | date=October 15, 2014 | accessdate=October 15, 2014 | author=Terry, Josh}}

The band frequently faced controversy over their original name, involving accusations of both racism and cultural appropriation because of the name's association with the original Vietnamese Viet Cong.[http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2015/9/Viet-Cong-to-change-its-band-name "Viet Cong to change its band name"]. CBC Music, September 21, 2015. In March 2015, the band was set to perform at Oberlin College, but the show was cancelled due to their "offensive name".{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58694-viet-cong-show-canceled-due-to-offensive-band-name|title=Viet Cong Show Canceled Due to "Offensive" Band Name|work=Pitchfork|date=3 March 2015}}

In September 2015, the band announced that they were going to change their name, posting to their Facebook page, "We are a band who wants to make music and play our music for our fans. We are not here to cause pain or remind people of atrocities of the past".{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/61277-viet-cong-are-changing-their-name/|title=Viet Cong Are Changing Their Name {{!}} Pitchfork|website=pitchfork.com|date=19 September 2015|access-date=2016-08-23}} On March 29, 2016, the Canadian music magazine Exclaim! reported that the band were still booking shows under the name Viet Cong, and began running a real-time "Days since Viet Cong promised to change their name" counter on the magazine's website.[http://exclaim.ca/music/article/welp_viet_cong_are_still_booking_shows_as_viet_cong "Viet Cong Are Still Booking Shows as Viet Cong"]. Exclaim!, March 29, 2016.

On April 21, 2016, Flegel announced in a Pitchfork interview that the band would henceforth be performing and recording under the name "Preoccupations".{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/64945-the-band-formerly-known-as-viet-cong-announce-new-name/ |title=The Band Formerly Known as Viet Cong Announce New Name |publisher=Pitchfork |first=Jeremy |last=Gordon |date=2016-04-21 |accessdate=2016-04-21}} Their second studio album, Preoccupations, was released as a self-titled album under the name Preoccupations on September 16, 2016.{{cite web|last1=Coughlan|first1=Jamie|title=Preoccupations Share 11 Minute Epic 'Memory' Feat. Dan Boeckner Of Wolf Parade|url=http://overblown.co.uk/preoccupations-share-11-minute-epic-memory-feat-dan-boeckner-wolf-parade/|website=Overblown|date=7 September 2016 |accessdate=7 September 2016}}

On January 16, 2018, the band previewed a new single, "Espionage". Their third studio album, New Material, was released on March 23, 2018. This was their last release on American imprint Jagjaguwar Records. {{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/preoccupations-announce-new-album-share-new-song-listen/|title=Preoccupations Announce New Album, Share New Song: Listen|website=Pitchfork|date=16 January 2018|accessdate=6 January 2019}}

On October 5, 2020, the band announced on Twitter that they were working on a new album.{{Cite tweet |user=pre_occupations |number=1313194784912072704 |date = October 5, 2020 |title=Also, we’ll have a new album on the way ASAP! The songs are written and the instrumentals are recorded, me (Monty) and Matt just need to sing on it! Wear your masks and stay safe!!}} This, their fourth studio album, titled Arrangements, was released on September 9, 2022 solely via Flemish Eye Records.{{cite web |last1=Bloom |first1=Madison |last2=Hussey |first2=Allison |title=9 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/9-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-sudan-archives-jockstrap-and-more/ |website=Pitchfork |date=9 September 2022}} In late 2024, On February 11th, 2025, Preoccupations announced their fifth album “Ill At Ease” which is set to be released on May 9th, 2025 via Born Losers Records.

The group's musical style has mainly been described as "post-punk".{{cite web | url=http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music/music-previews/post-punk-in-the-corner-pocket-11374/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323113522/http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/music/music-previews/post-punk-in-the-corner-pocket-11374/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 23, 2014 | title=Post-punk in the corner pocket | publisher=Fast Forward Weekly | date=October 17, 2013 | accessdate=May 6, 2014 | author=Friesen, Devib }} The band's debut cassette was described as a combination of "crooning post-punk vocals, distant-sounding harmonies à la Nuggets-era psychedelia, noise-addled punk, and Blade Runner-style instrumentals".

Asked about the band's new wave influences in 2016, Munro said, "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark gets rocked a lot in the van, and we're all New Order fans of course... At least half of my favourite records are from the late seventies or the early eighties."{{cite web|url=https://thepostie.de/interviews/intense-manoeuvres-in-the-dark-preoccupations-im-interview/|title=Intense Manoeuvres in the Dark: Preoccupations im Interview|website=The Postie|language=De|date=July 8, 2016|access-date=January 9, 2024}}

• Matt Flegel – bass, vocals
• Mike Wallace – drums
• Scott "Monty" Munro – guitar, synth
• Daniel Christiansen – guitar

Timeline

{{#tag:timeline|

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18

PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:0 right:0

Alignbars = justify

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy

Period = from:01/01/2012 till:06/01/2025 # it's best not to use auto-updating timelines as it can cause problems when the graphic updates on a daily basis

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2012

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:2012

Legend = position:bottom orientation:vertical columns:4

Colors =

id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals

id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar

id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass

id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards

id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums

id:studio value:black legend:Album

BarData =

bar:Hagen text:"Matt Flegel"

bar:Abramo text:"Scotty Munro"

bar:Kirtland text:"Daniel Christiansen"

bar:McDonald text:"Mike Wallace"

LineData =

layer:back

color:studio

at:01/20/2015

at:09/16/2016

at:03/23/2018

at:09/09/2022

at:05/09/2025

PlotData=

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Hagen from:start till:end color:Vocals

width:3

bar:Hagen from:start till:end color:Bass

width:9

bar:Abramo from:start till:end color:Guitar

width:3

bar:Abramo from:start till:end color:Keys

width:9

bar:Kirtland from:start till:end color:Guitar

bar:McDonald from:start till:end color:Drums

}}

• Viet Cong (as Viet Cong) (2015, Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar)
• Preoccupations (2016, Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar)
• New Material (2018, Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar)
• Arrangements (2022, Flemish Eye)
• Ill at Ease (2025, Born Losers)

• Cassette (2014, self-released/Mexican Summer)

• "Throw It Away" (2013, self-released)
• "Continental Shelf" (2014, Jagjaguwar)
• "Bunker Buster" (2014, Jagjaguwar)
• "Silhouettes" (2014, Jagjaguwar)
• "Anxiety" (2016, Jagjaguwar)
• "Stimulation" (2016, Jagjaguwar)
• "Degraded" (2016, Jagjaguwar)
• "Memory" (2016, Jagjaguwar)
• "Key / Off Duty Trip" (2016, Jagjaguwar)
• "Espionage" (2018, Jagjaguwar)
• "Antidote" (2018, Jagjaguwar)
• "Disarray" (2018, Jagjaguwar)
• "Decompose" (2018, Jagjaguwar)
• "Pontiac 87" (2018, Jagjaguwar)
• "Ricochet" (2022, self-released)
• "Death of Melody" (2022, self-released)
• "Slowly" (2022, self-released)
• "Focus" (2025, Born Losers)

{{Reflist}}

• {{commons category-inline|Preoccupations}}
• {{official website|http://preoccupations.ca/}}

{{Preoccupations}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preoccupations}}

Category:Musical groups established in 2012

Category:Canadian indie rock groups

Category:Canadian post-punk music groups

Category:Canadian art rock groups

Category:Musical groups from Calgary

Category:Canadian musical quartets

Category:2012 establishments in Alberta

Category:Jagjaguwar artists