10 reasons why you need Die Spitz in your life

“We were doing ratty-ass shit that I probably should not say in an interview…”

Eleanor Livingston’s having to bite her tongue as she explains how Die Spitz’s rebellious, untameable spirit was forged, back when she, Ava Schrobilgen and Kate Halter were still in high school. Whatever it was that Die Spitz were getting up to, they were chasing fun and freedom. Even now in their early 20s, with drummer Chloe De St. Aubin in their ranks, that chase has never stopped.

Within their music, Die Spitz epitomise ‘badass energy’ like nobody else. ‘What’s it like knowing none of you bitches can compete?’ snarls Eleanor on tough-as-nails early single Throw Yourself To The Sword. Sometimes that blazing defiance is channelled into political songwriting, leading them to occasionally be mistaken for being a riot grrrl band.

“We do have songs where we talk about our experiences as women,” explains Chloe. “But maybe it felt two-dimensional in some ways to just talk about that, because we have so many other experiences in life that are absolutely attached to our gender, but are also just attached to our feelings as human beings.”

In the wake of their scorching 2025 debut album Something To Consume, they’re becoming known as a force to be reckoned with live. After filling London’s Underworld in February, they returned to headline the Electric Ballroom, made their debut at Download and opened for the Foo Fighters. Time for them to tell us what the fuss is all about…

Eleanor, Ava and Kate have known each other for years, but when Chloe came into the picture, they realised they had the potential to go the distance as a band...

Eleanor: “We met Chloe right before we played our first show. We had some disputes over the years from just being friends for that long, and I feel like Chloe came in and was the missing puzzle piece. We had all this energy, and we needed someone like Chloe to finish the puzzle.”
Ava: “We actually bonded because we’re all vampires…”
Kate: “It’s all the blood banks that we’ve been robbing!”

Grungy riffs, hulking Sabbathian tones, shoegaze-inspired textures – Die Spitz can do it all...

Ava: “We made sure that this first album wasn’t just one genre, and we’re gonna keep on exploring different types of music with our upcoming records. We’re gonna start doing some electronic components as well. I got a synth, which I’m really excited about, and I think there’s a lot of freedom in that you can make whatever you want. There’s at least one person that will listen to it.”
Chloe: “And that’s my mom!”

Is it rock? Is it metal? Die Spitz are asking, ‘Why does that even matter, though?’

Kate: “I feel like it was intentional [to resist categorisation], but it’s also something that happened very naturally.”
Chloe: “We listen to all kinds of music, and we listen to all kinds of stuff together. I think it’s really easy to sometimes box women into a genre, so I think we realised that we had all these other interests and simultaneously didn’t want to be labelled as just one thing.”

They all share vocal duties and often swap instruments. It’s an approach that’s turned out to be rather advantageous...

Chloe: “There’s no one person that’s leading everything, which is, I feel, a very integral thing within our friendship and in the band.”
Eleanor: “It’s just so democratic that it makes it really fun and interesting, and it also kind of relieves the pressure sometimes, at least for me. I definitely have a leading role in this band, but we all do, so it’s not like everyone’s relying on me to do X, Y and Z, and if I don’t, then I’m failing as a leading man. I can rely on everyone else if I need a cushion.”
Chloe: “There’s just so many more resources when you’re not banking on one person. That’s also way too much pressure, and honestly, that’s probably why a lot of bands fall apart, because there’s just so much ego wrapped up in that.”
Ava: “I think that messes up the balance, just from the get-go, if somebody is considered more important than the others. That all of us being considered the same amount of importance in this maintains the balance.”

Die Spitz’s signing to White Stripes legend Jack White’s label Third Man Records drew plenty of attention. Not least because they’re the heaviest band on the roster...

Kate: “We’ve met him twice and he’s taller than you’d imagine!”
Eleanor: “They’ve been really great to us. Obviously they would do the same if we were more of their typical genre, but I think that they were excited to have a band that was maybe in a heavier realm. I can’t speak for them, but I feel like they’re probably excited to promote an all-female band that’s trying to break through in a genre that typically is not dominated by women.”

Though it’s not their entire identity, Die Spitz make their political views unambiguous, knowing there’s a mission to fulfil that’s bigger than just their band...

Chloe: “I think the U.S. has always had deep issues that have been taking a new, evil form. Every generation has their fight with authority, and this is it for me. There’s everything going on with Palestine and our ties to that, the way that our country works in terms of economics, the way that they’re happy to sell you a bunch of shit you don’t need, but won’t give you healthcare and privatise everything. It’s bullshit.”
Ava: “I also think, ‘How could you not write about it?’ It blows me away that there’s people who don’t talk about it and who don’t care and just live their lives every single day like nothing’s happening. I’m kind of jealous of them. Honestly, I feel like they are happier than we are most days. We have so much privilege, not only being white Americans, but also now having a platform. I think it’s our responsibility to continue to talk about these things and educate other people on it and fight the good fight in every little way that we can.”

Songs like Punishers and the not-at-all pop-punk Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry For The Delay) showcase their tender side – one that’s preoccupied with desire, obsession and other big, molten feelings...

Eleanor: “Even the songs that we have that are political, or the songs that we have that are emotional, they’re based on how we were feeling in that moment. I’m not usually like, ‘I’m gonna write an emotional song.’ I’m not trying to make that song for the general public. It’s something coming from myself.”

They’ve quickly realised that Die Spitz can be anyone’s band. Even for people who aren’t normally ones for heavy stuff...

Eleanor: “We have a lot of different kinds of listeners. I’ve noticed it at our shows. I’ve had people come up to me who are not the typical listener we would expect, but they’re like, ‘I really like your band. I’m really surprised that I like this music.’ Just hearing our message from a band that they like might help them educate themselves, or try to learn about people that are going through things. I think that’s really important.”

Die Spitz have already garnered quite the reputation for their live shows, and if you’re looking for catharsis and belonging, they’ll offer you a place to go...

Ava: “I really like creating a space where people – specifically women, and more specifically young women and the whole alphabet army – can let out their rage safely and healthily with a lot of other like-minded people. I’m gay and I’m a woman, and I know that there’s a lot of rage to be had right now. I feel very privileged that I get to play my music every night for weeks at a time. To me, that’s like therapy. I mean, I’m screaming, and screaming is good for you. There’s also something great in knowing that there’s a safe space for other people who are going through similar struggles, who get to let out their rage as well. And then they’re laughing between the songs, too!”
Eleanor: “There’s a part in our set where I bring up all the girls, the gays and the theys to the front. That’s one of the most magical moments of the show, because we’re all just there together, and we’re all raging and having so much fun and screaming the lyrics to each other. I want everyone to have fun and enjoy the show and be blown away, and I hope they are, but that’s the best part, for sure.”

Die Spitz grew up watching men dominate stages, but now the tide’s turning, and they want to be a part of the shift towards a more feminist future...

Eleanor: “I feel like I almost had internalised misogyny growing up. I don’t think that there was enough access to – or maybe I wasn’t in the right spaces for – seeing woman rage. I had to outgrow what was being put in front of me as a teenager and a young adult. I’m really grateful to hopefully beable to do that now for other people, especially here in Texas.”
Ava: “Something that keeps us going is knowing that we are the women onstage that we wish that we saw as kids. Getting the chance to see that would have helped us accept ourselves and feel proud of ourselves. The main thing that keeps me doing this, even though I do have a lot of struggles with the little bit of fame that we have, is seeing parents bring their little kids up to me, and you can tell that that little kid is [like us]. They’ll be so happy and have stars in their eyes. It’s so sweet.”

Something To Consume is out now via Third Man Records.

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