Jobber have returned to the ring! The NYC-based fuzz rock tag team have announced their debut album, Jobber To The Stars, due out August 22nd via Exploding In Sound Records. Packing massive guitars, sugary melodies, and a larger than life personality, the band combines crunchy '90s alt rock with professional wrestling themes to make an album that's sure to please fans of the squared circle and rockers alike.
To celebrate the announcement, Jobber have shared the LP's first single, "Nightmare" and its extremely fun accompanying music video starring wrestler "Iron" Rip Byson. Built around a bouncy riff and guitarist/vocalist Kate Meizner's clever melodies, the song is an arena-sized stomper that's guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping.
Meizner discussed the new song, saying:
“I wrote this song back in 2021 when I wanted to quit my day job, but felt really, really stuck. Companies were doing mass layoffs, cutting benefits, and the job market was garbage, so it felt like a risk to make a move and leave. I wanted to capture that feeling of paralysis: when you know you need to let go of something terrible for you (and the world!), but the decision involves so much risk that fear keeps you rooted in place. It’s like a nightmare where you’re trying to escape from a monster that’s trying to destroy you, but your legs are cement – you just 'can’t seem to run.' Sonically, I was really going for a power pop feel, with the Moog, sugary melody, and groove. I think I was listening to 'Waiting' by the Rentals on repeat at the time. Mike Falcone (drummer), Justin Pizzoferrato (engineer), and we had a fun time capturing that sound and playing with different flourishes like claps, 'woo-hoos' or hard panned guitar textures."
In 2022 Jobber released their debut EP, Hell In A Cell, drawing acclaim from the likes of Stereogum, The FADER, BrooklynVegan, FLOOD Magazine, Paste Magazine, Bandcamp Daily, Uproxx, Alternative Press, and many more. Now Jobber To The Stars picks up where they left off with eleven songs that hit harder than a chair shot to the head.
Jobber—Meizner, drummer-vocalist Michael Falcone, guitarist-keyboardist Michael Julius, and bassist Miles Toth—recorded the album with Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr, Krill, Pixies) and Aron Kobayashi Ritch (Momma, Hotline TNT, Squirrel Flower), and it explodes from the speakers with track after track of heavy guitars and effortless power pop hooks. Lyrically Meizner explores parallels between professional wrestling and the frustrations of what she calls the "mundane and very serious struggles under capitalism." The songs are packed with bite, melody, humor, and brains, all delivered with the visceral fun of a wrestling match, transcending the glam and the gimmicks to tap into something very real.
Exploding In Sound Records is absolutely thrilled to welcome New Orleans' Lawn to the label with the release of their new single "Sports Gun" - out today! We've been fans of the band since their very first EP and couldn't be more excited to be working together with the band. With their first new single in three years, the band rip into a propulsive rhythm with radiant energy and swarming hooks. Lawn only seem to get better with every release and "Sports Gun" is a brilliant reintroduction to their kinetic blend of post-punk and brilliant jangle pop.
For the past decade, the New Orleans band Lawn has thrived on the palpable chemistry between co-lead singers and songwriters Mac Folger and Rui De Magalhaes. Though each boasts distinct sensibilities—Folger’s songs are breezy, jangly, and personal while De Magalhaes’ are biting and propulsive post-punk—they’ve seamlessly blended their idiosyncratic styles over three unassailable indie rock full-lengths, while becoming a fixture in a thriving New Orleans scene, and sharing stages with artists like Momma, Hovvdy and Omni.
Engineered by Greg Obis (of Stuck) at Chicago's Palisades Studio and mixed by Dave Vettraino (Melkbelly, Deeper), “Sports Gun” simmers with intensity thanks to its pummeling bass riff, layers of feedback-laden guitars. It’s galvanizing, loud, and unrelenting.
Rui De Magalhaes says of the track:
"Sports Gun is supposed to be written from the point of view of a coach/parental figure who pushes the subject to their absolute limit without regard for them otherwise. It came from a short story I wrote pre-pandemic. The idea was that any trauma - long or short term notwithstanding - would only be implied, if that, and that we only get to experience the narrative through a very thin, biased lens. It’s a frail attempt at writing something inspired by Julio Cortazar, but I still thought it fit the drive of the song. It is supposed to be more about the lengths some people go to accomplish something, conflating happiness with ambition, and overall being inept at being content.
I knew that we were going to an actual studio this time around, so we built the song around the idea that it would sound “heavier” for us. We had wanted to record with Greg [Obis] and really loved the sound he was getting from his own music, so we were open to the notion of layering as much noise as we could. The original demo had a slightly different beat and I sort of rapped the lyrics. Once we got into the studio and everyone started adding their own take, I just went for the yell instead."
We're thrilled to reissue Washer's debut EP, Bighead on limited edition yellow cassettes. Released back in 2014 via the great ECB&B Records (Big Ups, Flagland), this EP made an enormous impression on us and much of the Brooklyn DIY scene. It's a real honor to bring it back into print after being sold out for so long. Pick one up while they last.
Krill's second album, Lucky Leaves, was a defining moment for so many of us, a brilliant record that expanded on the trio's debut while retaining all of the idiosyncratic charm and philosophical lyrical nuances. It's a bold record with big ideas, inescapable riffs, and a dynamic rhythm section. Lucky Leaves is as classic an album as we've ever heard, without a moment wasted as they weave and rearrange existence in all the record's experimental and knotted pop glory.
Last year saw the release of Babe Report's full length debut, Did You Get Better, and the band are ready to hit the road in support of the record! The Chicago based quartet will head out throughout the midwest and east coast in March and April. Check out all the dates below.
To celebrate the upcoming tour dates, the band have released a brand new single, the mega fuzzy earworm "DIY2K," out today and available to stream everywhere.
Speaking about the single, Ben Grigg (vocals, guitar) shared:
"This track is a sneering indictment of the Cybertruck-driving MAGA ethos and the ruthless "leaders" who inspire them. The track began as part of guitarist/vocalist my song-a-day recording project Whelpwisher, but blossomed into a fully-fledged Babe Report track, with the help of my bandmates.
The lyrics remind us that "...ruthless people will do anything to get to the top, the problem is that they're still ruthless when they get there." The song also playfully recalls the leadoff track from Did You Get Better titled "Turtle of Reaper," which mentions fear mongering over the Y2K bug. With "DIY2K," the fear mongering might be justified. And as the title suggests, we did this to ourselves."
