Listen to Freak Out!

Slick back your hair and get out your leather jackets because everyone’s favorite Wyoming pop-punk band featuring a set of twins, a dude from the Lillingtons and a half Chinese, half Mexican guy who likes to be tied up and beaten black and blue are back and they’re…whoa. Wait. I know what you’re thinking: that could be almost any band from Wyoming, but rest assured, I’m talking about the Rectangle State’s favorite foursome: Teenage Bottlerocket, and they’ve finally taken a break from zipping around the world, eating barbeque for breakfast, and supporting bands like NOFX and the Descendents to put their heads together and crank out yet another masterpiece of modern Ramones influenced, gleefully stupid, infectiously awesome punk rock. It’s called Freak Out! And it comes out on July 3rd, 2012 courtesy of Fat Wreck Chords.
After a couple great records on Red Scare Industries, the boys in Teenage Bottlerocket finally signed to Fat in 2009, where they wasted no time melting faces with their Fat debut, They Came From the Shadows and the subsequent EP Mutilate Me. Known for their often bizarre subject matter, TBR have songs that tell Gene Simmons to go fuck himself, odes to skateboarding on old Zorlac decks and upbeat jams about murdering everyone at a Burger King and Freak Out! keeps the tradition alive with awesome tracks like “Who Killed Sensei” and “Cruising For Chicks.” There’s also a song called “Necrocomicon” on the album which has gotta be the first (and best) song ever written about the comic book of the dead. But shit, that’s neither here nor there, the point is, TBR went into the Blasting Room, where such little known acts as Rise Against and Gaslight Anthem have been known to record, and, under the watchful eye and ear of engineer Andrew Berlin, cranked out fourteen new barnburners that’ll have you laughing, dancing and counting to four really, really fast all summer long. When asked about the new tracks, vocalist and guitarist Ray Carlisle said:
“People who are familiar with our band are not going to listen this and think ‘They’ve really gone a new direction with this.’ We’ve always stuck with the same style of tunes…There’s always a few “off the beaten path” type songs. Overall, this record is us taking what we’ve always done, and adding in some tricks we’ve learned over the years.”
You heard it right from the horse’s mouth, folks. It’s the same TBR that you know and love, with a little bit of spice thrown in to keep it new without getting too out there. No surprise for a band with a track record of consistently besting their last release for over ten years now.
So, what’s next for this quartet of Wyoming weirdos? Well, you can expect extensive worldwide touring, relentless live shows including festival appearances, all accompanied by that small town charm and courtesy that can’t be taught. I mean, these guys have never punched any women, on or off stage. I don’t know why I’m even bringing that up, but it’s true. Yup.