Viet Cong Change Name To Preoccupations

Viet Cong Change Name To Preoccupations

Viet Cong, the Canadian postpunk four-piece who released a great self-titled debut album last year, came under some fire because of their name, which many deemed offensive to Vietnamese people. The band eventually agreed, saying that they would change their name. And today, they’ve announced the new name. Going forward, the band will be known as Preoccupations, as Pitchfork reports. Here’s their statement about the new band name:

After finishing our latest record and taking some time off, we are excited to announce that we will be performing and recording as “Preoccupations” going forward. We will be previewing new material from a forthcoming record in a series of festivals and shows in North America and Europe in the coming months. We apologize to those who were adversely affected by our former band name. This was never anticipated nor our intent. We are artists and not politicians, we understand that the name reflected pain to some individuals and we are happy to change it and move on and focus on our music. Thanks to all our friends and fans. See you all soon.

The newly-rechristened Preoccupations also have a few shows coming up:

05/28 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
06/13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
06/27 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret Festival
06/18 – Brussels, Belgium @ Out Loud, Beurschouwburg
06/22 – London, UK @ Shacklewell Arms
06/23 – London, UK @ Old Blue Last
06/28 – Paris, France @ Olympic Cafe
06/30 – Berlin, Germany @ Urban Spree
07/02 – Tullamore, Ireland @ Castle Palooza
07/09 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Festival
08/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
10/08 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall

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