Listen to ‘Captain’s Dead’ via Stereogum

When The Coathangers first stormed on the scene over a decade ago, their power resided in their ability to craft a crooked hook out of a grimy guitar line, a delightfully crass chorus, or an enticingly ham-fisted drum-and- bass groove. With each successive album, the Atlanta garage punk ensemble has increasingly tempered their brash charm with sharp-witted pop. Not that the band ever fully excised the primal howl of The Gories or the sparse strut of ESG, but with the trio’s latest EP, Parasite, The Coathangers explore the space between their initial unbridled expressionism and their recent nuanced song craft. “I’d like to think the EP takes you on a journey through the band’s existence,” says guitarist/vocalist Julia Kugel of the sequencing of the five songs on their latest offering.

Parasite kicks off with the title track, a rowdy throwback to a younger, angrier incarnation of the band. Crafted in the wake of the election and during a tumultuous period in the band members’ private lives, “Parasite” is pure catharsis. “During the making of our last album, I didn’t want to scream anymore, I just wanted to sing and focus on melody. When we came to this recording, I just wanted to scream and curse.” If the EP is meant as a journey through the various stages of the band’s career, it certainly storms out of the gate with the same kind of piss-and- vinegar of their eponymous debut. And while “Wipe Out” is another rowdy venture, with bassist Meredith Franco taking over the lead vocal duties over a steady barrage of pointed power-chords, it also showcases the rousing choruses that elevated the trio from underground heroines to an internationally renowned garage act. Despite the adverse times, The Coathangers’ mastery of pop cannot be contained forever, as is evident in the EP’s single “Captain’s Dead”, with its sultry verses, triumphant chorus, and a bombastic freak-out of noisy guitar. The journey through The Coathangers’ musical evolution leads to a revamped version of “Down Down” off 2016’s Nosebleed Weekend LP and the smoky twang of “Drifter”, in which drummer/vocalist Stephanie Luke demonstrates her knack for solid Dusty Springfield-style ballads.

Parasite’s cover features an illustration of The Coathangers as sirens of the sea, an image that aptly captures the nautical themes of the EP. But the notion of The Coathangers as both mischievous and enchanting is certainly fitting too, as is evident in the alternately piercing and beguiling tracks on their latest EP. Suicide Squeeze is proud to offer Parasite as a one-sided 12” on Sea Green vinyl with a b- side etching with an initial limited pressing of 2000 copies. The EP is also available digitally. Parasite is available worldwide on June 30th, 2017.

Preorder The Coathangers ‘Parasite’ 12″/DIG

THU MAR 9 – Visalia CA, The Cellar Door (TICKETS)
FRI MAR 10 – San Francisco CA, Brick & Mortar (TICKETS)
SAT MAR 11 – Oakland CA, Starline Social Club (TICKETS)
SUN MAR 12 – Santa Rosa CA, Arlene Francis Center
MON MAR 13 – Reno NV, The Holland Project (TICKETS)
THU MAR 16 – Eugene OR, The Boreal (TICKETS)
FRI MAR 17 – Portland OR, Mississippi Studios (TICKETS)
SAT MAR 18 – Vancouver BC, Fortune Sound Club (TICKETS)
SUN MAR 19 – Seattle WA, Chop Suey (TICKETS)
TUE MAR 21 – Spokane WA, The Observatory (TICKETS)
THU MAR 23 – Boise ID, Treefort Music Festival (TICKETS)
FRI MAR 24 – Salt Lake City UT, Diabolical Records (TICKETS)
SAT MAR 25 – Las Vegas NV, The Bunkhouse Saloon (TICKETS)
FRI APR 14 – Charleston SC, The Royal American
SAT APR 15 – Durham NC, Pinhook
SUN APR 16 – Richmond VA, The Camel
TUE APR 18 – Washington DC, DC9
WED APR 19 – Philadelphia PA, Ortliebs
THU APR 20 – Brooklyn NY, Sunnyvale (TICKETS)
FRI APR 21 – Brooklyn NY, Baby’s All Right (TICKETS)
SAT APR 22 – Boston MA, Brighton Music Hall
MON APR 24 – Montreal QC, L’Esco
TUE APR 25 – Toronto ON, Silver Dollar
WED APR 26 – Buffalo NY, Traf Music Hall
THU APR 27 – Pittsburgh PA, Mr. Roboto
FRI APR 28 – Baltimore MD, Metro Gallery (TICKETS)
SAT APR 29 – Charlotte NC, Reverb Fest (TICKETS)
FRI MAY 12 – Manchester UK, Night & Day (TICKETS)
SAT MAY 13 – Brighton UK, The Joker (TICKETS)
MON MAY 15 – Bristol UK, The Exchange (TICKETS)
TUE MAY 16 – Oxford UK, The Bullingdon (TICKETS)
WED MAY 17 – London UK, Oslo (TICKETS)
THU MAY 18 – Hastings UK, The Printworks (TICKETS)
FRI MAY 19 – Leicester UK, The Cookie (TICKETS)
SAT MAY 20 – Leeds UK, Gold Sounds at Brundenell Social (TICKETS)
SUN MAY 21 – Sheffield UK, The Harley (TICKETS)
TUE MAY 23 – Ramsgate UK, Ramsgate Music Hall (TICKETS)
WED MAY 24 – Gent BE, Psych Over 9000 (TICKETS)
THU MAY 25 – Eindhoven NL, Stroomhuis (TICKETS)
FRI MAY 26 – Rotterdam NL, Roodkapje, Girls Go Boom Night (TICKETS)
SAT MAY 27 – Amsterdam NL, Pacific Park (TICKETS)
SUN MAY 28 – Utrecht NL, dB’s (TICKETS)
TUE MAY 30 – Hamburg DE, Molotow (TICKETS)
WED MAY 31 – Berlin DE, Cassiopeia (TICKETS)
THU JUN 1 – Munich DE, Orangehouse (TICKETS)
FRI JUN 2 – Cologne DE, MTC (TICKETS)
SAT JUN 3 – Paris FR, Le Batofar (TICKETS)
MON JUN 6 – Ravenna IT, Beaches Brew Festival (TICKETS)
WED JUN 7 – Yverdon-Les-Bains CH, L’Amalgame (TICKETS)
THU JUN 8 – Clermont FR, Ferrand Le Barraka (TICKETS)
FRI JUN 9 – Nimes FR, This is not a Love Song (TICKETS)
SAT JUN 10 – Helsinki FI – Sideways Festival (TICKETS)