Exploding In Sound Records is thrilled to announce the return of St. Louis' Shady Bug and their upcoming EP, What's The Use? Due out on June 30th, the record was recorded in Nashville with Pile's Alex Molini handling production together with the band. They are sharing the lead single, "lizard," and its music video today, together with summer tour dates. The EP is an evolution in Shady Bug's music, with vocalist/guitarist Hannah Rainey coming into her own and taking more control of the band's sound.
Speaking about "lizard," Hannah Rainey shared:
"Lizard was written while I was still in my relationship but I knew I needed to leave so I could grow, aka shed my old layer of lizard skin. It was really hard to leave the relationship because I knew I would regret either decision and be sad. Tossing and turning, not knowing how to go on. The Lizard year is a reflection of wanting that growth so bad but having many doubts.
We made a cowboy themed music video which I am very excited about. The outro is really long and we crescendo into a nuts fuzz loud wildin’ out section. We were lucky to get to be in the Pile HQ in [Alex] Molini’s studio - I got to use my own amp but also Rick [Maguire]’s and we had big stacks and Molini’s amps to work with. I got to play the outro loud as fuck and make insane feedback noises which was really fun to record."
The "lizard" video is directed by Lana Dvorak with cinematographer/editor Dylan Schnitke and editor Delia Rainey. What's The Use? is out June 30th via Exploding In Sound Records.
TOUR DATES:
05/31 - St Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole w/ Joyer 07/17 - St Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole w/ Pardoner 07/18 - Nashville, TN @ Drkmttr 07/19 - Atlanta, GA @ 529 07/20 - Durham, NC @ Pinhook 07/22 - Baltimore, MD @ Joe Squared 07/23 - Easthampton, MA @ Marigold Theatre 07/24 - Providence, RI @ Lost Bag 07/25 - Boston, MA @ O'Brien's 07/26 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right 07/27 - Philadelphia, PA 07/28 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Government Center 07/30 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Punk Hazard 07/31 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Next week, Washer are releasing their first new album in six years, Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends. They’ve shared “King Insignificant” and “Not Like You” from it already, and today the duo is back with one more, “Blammo,” which Mike Quigley says “is kind of about shifting your perception of time, and ultimately being grateful for any indication that time passes.”
“It’s easy to get caught in the monotonous day-to-day drudge and feel like nothing has happened, and then look around and realize you’re old,” he continued. “Better to think of time as fading in the distance, with the future coming from behind you with no real way to know what’s coming. Even unpleasant, slimy things sneaking up on you at least let you know you’re still moving through it.”
Kal Marks have shared a new single. Following the release of last year’s excellent My Name Is Hell, the group has released a revamped version of “Fuck That Guy,” originally from their 2018 album Universal Care. It’s out today via Exploding In Sound. Hear it below and check out the band’s upcoming tour dates.
The band’s Carl Shane said in a statement, “Since we introduced this song into our set it’s become a staple and usually found at the end. It’s always been hard to follow. Over the years it’s become more massive and brutal especially when we transitioned into a four piece. When we noticed that it’s been 5 years since it came out we thought we’d celebrate this new evolution of the song.”
Last month, Washer announced their long awaited third LP. Entitled Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends and due out April 28th on longtime label home Exploding In Sound, the album was announced with the single "King Insignificant, which Uproxx called "a remarkable return, retaining their signature charm." Today, the duo of Mike Quigley (vocals, guitars, bass) and Kieran McShane (drums) have returned to share a second single from the new LP, the driving "Not Like You," and announce a run of East Coast tour dates.
“The album is, in many ways, me venting frustrations around the drive to make things and the idea that we choose what has meaning in our lives,” says Quigley. “We have the capacity to change what’s wrong. We try, maybe, and some things progress. But it’s not helping. We don’t know how to process grief, or we’re following tangents instead of the root problems. 'Not Like You' is sort of a reflection on making changes in your life, from the viewpoint of the part of you that is reluctant to change. That part has expectations of failure and is afraid of what will come, and so there can be this real anger directed at the positive shit in your life. Brains are dumb."
In support of the record, Washer have just announce a run of East Coast dates that will take place in early May, shortly after the album's release. Full details can be found below.
Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends is due out April 28th on Exploding In Sound.
Tour Dates 04/15 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Can Bar w/ Goshupon 05/04 - Brooklyn, NY @ Purgatory w/ Paper Bee, Raisalka, Bummer Camp 05/05 - Worcester, MA @ Distant Castle w/ Paper Bee, Big Mess 05/06 - Highland Park, NJ @ Pino's w/ Paper Bee, Civic Mimic, Teen Idle 05/07 - Philadelphia, PA @ Planet Earth w/ Paper Bee, Jack Tomascak's Future Interior
Coming up in the NYC scene of the 2010s, the two-piece Washer have long been a beloved and consistent presence in East Coast DIY circles for most of the last decade. Sharing stages with people like Pile, Ovlov, Water From Your Eyes, Mannequin Pussy and Melkbelly, and even being name dropped in the lyrics to fellow NYC band Patio's track "Boy Scout", Washer have stayed remarkably active despite their relatively sparse recorded output. Today, 6 years after the release of their sophomore LP, the duo of Mike Quigley (vocals, guitars, bass) and Kieran McShane (drums) have returned to announce a new album entitled Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends (due out April 28th on longtime label home Exploding In Sound), and share a new single, "King Insignificant".
While the six-year delay between albums may suggest a stalled creative process, that couldn’t be further from the case, as the band had more than a full length ready to record at the start of 2020. When the pandemic stalled those plans, the band decided to commit themselves to making the record even better. Living in two different cities, Quigley and McShane would alternate taking a trip to either Brooklyn or Philadelphia, where they’d practice, write, and dig deeper into what they wanted the third Washer album to become. Of the 15 songs that populate Improved Means to Deteriorated Ends, only four were from that initial batch, and the result is an album that sees Washer retaining all the loose, ramshackle charms that have always been a core element of their sound, but finding a new level as songwriters.
This is exemplified by album opener “King Insignificant,” which lays out the album’s thematic arc, but also serves as an impassioned update on the classic Washer approach. The song builds slowly, feeling like it could unspool at any second, only to explode into a cathartic ending.
“We chose 'King Insignificant' as the opener because it features a few of the vibes found elsewhere on the record, and serves as a sort of overview thematically," Quigley explains. "It's this balancing act between acknowledging the many kindnesses that have been extended to me by people in my life, and this nagging, unshakable self-contempt partly in reaction to that good fortune. It's a sort of bristling at interdependence. Greased by vice and rolling forward."
Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends is due out April 28th on Exploding In Sound. It is available for preorder here.
