After facing backlash over their name, Canadian post-punk foursome Viet Cong have finally changed their name to Preoccupation. The band, which is composed of four white men, two of whom also played in a band with the equally head-scratching name Women, were criticized as early as 2014 for their racist moniker. The Viet Cong were a “notoriously brutal insurgent group that terrorized Vietnamese citizens during the Vietnam War,” as Pitchfork’s Jeremy Gordon wrote of the events leading up to the name change and his follow-up interview with singer Matt Flegel.
Preoccupations issued a statement about the name change, which you can read below:
“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 band’s currently scheduled shows are as follows:
May
28 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
June
13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
18 – Brussels, Belgium @ Out Loud, Beurschouwburg
22 – London, UK @ Shacklewell Arms
23 – London, UK @ Old Blue Last
27 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret Festival
28 – Paris, France @ Olympic Cafe
30 – Berlin, Germany @ Urban Spree
July
02 – Tullamore, Ireland @ Castle Palooza
09 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Blues Festival
August
27 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
October
08 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall