Undoubtedly one of the albums of the year, When I Die, Will I Get Better? is the band’s most expansive release to date, adding shoegaze elements to their blackened metal invective. It is also an album that tackles a number of unflinching themes – from abortion rights through to the continued objectification of women by the music press. As ever, Serena is also honest about her own state of mind, Listen To Someone and Silent Restraint relating to her own battle with depression. With that in mind, how has she coped with the enforced restrictions imposed by the UK’s two stages of lockdown?
“It’s been a struggle and a learning process too. I have to say that Lockdown 2: The Revenge was a huge step back for me because I was starting to develop the mechanisms to cope,” admits Serena.
“The first lockdown was just super hard because I lost my day job [in retail], and I still haven’t been able to get a new one. Plus all these other things that filled my days – like band practice – were taken away from me. Different aspects of life that keep you busy, all just fell away,” she continues. “My world got very small and suffocating. When Lockdown 2 happened, there was a week where I barely left my bedroom, I was very morose, and was struggling.
“My way out of it – and it sounds very cheesy – is this list of things that I drew up and that I continually have to do every day. They’re simple things, like leaving the house for a walk, or doing a little bit of exercise to a YouTube video, or just playing guitar. It’s weird because of the depression, I have to remind myself to live. That does sound strange, but the one thing that depression will do is to prevent you from enjoying the things you normally to enjoy. You’ll pick up your guitar and go, ‘I used to love this, and now I feel nothing,’ which can be incredibly disheartening. But now I’ve got to that stage where I realise it’s better to do something, even when you’re not feeling it. That means you can get to the end of the day and say, ‘I haven’t just stared at the walls all day’. That’s been my strategy: lists and baby steps.”