New Music: Hot Hail! – ARTICLE of FAITH

Published On: March 15th, 2026|

When you are under threat of oppression, you fight back with the tools you have at hand. For musicians, well, that is their music.

It’s an approach that Hot Hail!, the solo project of Seattle musician Billy Sigil, does beautifully and effectively on ARTICLE of FAITH.

Lyrically, it really hit home for me, even living in the UK, as Brexit, anti-immigration sentiment, and state discrimination against trans and non-binary people have seen friends leave or be actively planning to do so.

When it comes to Sigil, they use their music to document the process that got America to a similar point, and as they say below, drawing direct comparisons from art created in another dangerous time for LGBTQ+ people.

Sigil uses 80s sounds and motifs on ARTICLE of FAITH to communicate on an emotional level with the listener. The wistful Italo period of Pet Shop Boys and the transitional pop-to-rock era of Depeche Mode are noticeable, drawn together within a dark wave framing, making the track part homily, part call-to-arms.

They say about the track and the message of the lyrics, “America has become a nation of Herr Ludwigs from the movie Cabaret, if anyone gets that reference. We’ve spent the last 15 years watching a significant portion of our population become completely unhitched from reality.”

“They will bend themselves into literally any shape to avoid recognizing the horror of what they’ve given themselves over to. The religion they professed has been infected and supplanted by this, and their articles of faith are that nothing they do is too far, and they will never be in the wrong.”

“I don’t have a solution to this. It is not impossible that this reality will eventually kill me, and people I love. Writing a song is somewhat useless, but it’s the only thing I’ve got for now.”

Hot Hail! release their Hope In Hell album next month on the 21st of April and hold an album release party at Baba Yaga in Seattle on the 26th of April. For party and album news, follow Hot Hail! on their Instagram.