Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Year active: 2006 - 2010
Members: Miljan Đokic (bass), Uroš Milkić (drums), Andrija Spičanović (guitar, vocals)
Related bands: 36 Daggers
FFO: At The Drive-In, Shellac, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Q & Not U
Cut Self Not (named after a Faraquet song) was a Belgrade-based trio formed in 2006 by members of 36 Daggers. The band released its only promotional demo EP through SuperSizeShe Records in 2007 before quietly disbanding three years later. In 2021, the demo resurfaced digitally on Bandcamp, giving it a well-deserved second life.
Across four tracks, Cut Self Not embraced a tightly wound blend of math-inflected post-hardcore, drawing comparisons to At the Drive-In, Shellac, Pretty Girls Make Graves and Q and Not U. Angular guitar work, shifting rhythms and infectious melodies are constantly pushed forward by bursts of dissonant noise, yet the songs never lose their sense of direction. Despite the technicality, the band prioritises momentum over showmanship, giving the EP an energy that's as danceable as it is unpredictable.
The standout track, "10.000 Watchers in a Day", begins with shimmering tremolo-picked guitar before unfolding into intertwining melodies, restless rhythmic shifts and half-sung, half-shouted vocals. Clocking in at just over five minutes, it demonstrates the band's ability to stretch an idea without sacrificing urgency, making it the EP's most fully realised composition.
Although short-lived, Cut Self Not captured a side of the Belgrade underground that leaned away from metallic hardcore and toward the angular, danceable end of post-hardcore - a direction that remained relatively uncommon in the region at the time.
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Cut Self Not (oduzet sa pesme od Faraqueta) je bio trio iz Beograda, osnovan 2006. godine od članova benda 36 Daggers. Bend je 2007. objavio svoj jedini promotivni demo EP za SuperSizeShe Records, nakon čega se tri godine kasnije tiho razišao. Godine 2021. demo je ponovo objavljen na Bandcampu, dobivši zasluženu drugu priliku da dopre do nove publike.
Kroz četiri pesme, Cut Self Not gradi zategnut spoj math-rockom obojenog post-hardcorea, često prizivajući bendove poput At the Drive-In, Shellac, Pretty Girls Make Graves i Q and Not U. Uglaste gitarske deonice, promenljivi ritmovi i zarazne melodije neprestano se sudaraju sa naletima disonantnog šuma, ali pesme ni u jednom trenutku ne gube osećaj pravca. Uprkos tehnički zahtevnom pristupu, bend uvek daje prednost dinamici i pokretu ispred virtuoznosti, zbog čega EP odiše energijom koja je istovremeno plesna i nepredvidiva.
Posebno se izdvaja pesma „10.000 Watchers in a Day“, koja počinje svetlucavim tremolo gitarskim deonicama pre nego što preraste u isprepletane melodije, nemirne ritmičke promene i vokale koji se smenjuju između pevanja i uzvika. Sa nešto više od pet minuta trajanja, pesma pokazuje sposobnost benda da razvije ideju bez gubitka hitnosti, čineći je najzaokruženijom kompozicijom na izdanju.
Iako kratkog veka, Cut Self Not predstavljao je onu stranu beogradskog undergrounda koja se udaljavala od metalizovanog hardcorea i okretala uglastijem, ritmički razigranijem post-hardcore zvuku - pravcu koji je u to vreme bio prilično neuobičajen na regionalnoj sceni.
