“It’s as close to real life as you can get without feeling really depressed about it,” Sabrina (originating from Toronto) offers by way of summarising Shelf Lives – the London-based electro-punk outfit she fronts alongside guitarist/producer Jonny. Much like this point in time, the duo’s music feels chaotic, tense, and wired. Pairing hardcore punk’s brief blasts of energy with electroclash’s minimal and sleazy sonics, they raise themes of societal collapse and hyper-consumerism with a warped smile. The result taps into headspace that’s as rotten as it is dopamine-flooded, with pent-up frustration and pop hooks tossed together in a way that makes, in their own words, “the fucked up seem fun.”

On the face of it, Shelf Lives make catchy, energetic pop songs that bring the abrasiveness and physicality of punk back to a small, cramped house party setting. It’s music so rowdy you can practically feel the sweat on the ceiling and the sound of crushed cans under your feet. “I think what you're gonna get from us will be different every time, but it won't sound like a different band,” says Johnny. “As long as it's authentic and fun,” Sabrina adds, “Cool – we’re there.”