Suck My Shirt is the The Coathangers’ fourth full-length. The title refers to an incident involving the salvaging of spilled tequila during the recording session for the album. While the title implies that little has changed with regards to the band’s celebratory mission statement, even just a cursory listen of their latest album demonstrates that there have indeed been changes in The Coathangers’ camp. First off, the quartet was reduced to a trio for the latest record, with keyboardist Bebe Coathanger (Candice Jones) stepping down from her duties. But the absence of keyboards isn’t nearly as noticeable of a difference as the band’s refined songwriting approach. Refinement is an attribute we expect to see in any group that has a career spanning more than a couple of years, but the extent to which The Coathangers have honed their trade with each successive album dwarfs most bands’ maturation. This isn’t to say that The Coathangers have polished their sound; the group once again worked with Ed Rawls and Justin McNeight and The Living Room to attain the same production values of their Larceny & Old Lace album and their recent slew of split 7”s. Rather, the refinement can be heard in the quality of the songs themselves. While the band retains the alluring spontaneity and happy accidents of their early releases, the trio’s current work sounds far more deliberate and locked-in than anything they’ve done in the past.

“It’s a balance between overthinking and just going for it,” guitarist Crook Kid Coathanger (Julia Kugel) says of their songwriting strategy. It’s a duality immediately apparent with the album opener “Follow Me”. It’s a classic Coathangers tune with the raspy vocals of Rusty Coathanger (Stephanie Luke) belted out over the signature grimy rock laid down by Crook Kid and bassist Minnie Coathanger (Meredith Franco). But the chorus opens into one of the most accessible hooks in the band’s canon, just before segueing into the next verse with a squall of violent dissonant guitar. From there the band launches into “Shut Up”, a title that harkens back to the brash sass of their first record. The song still has its spikey guitar riffs and shouted chorus, but here The Coathangers sound less like a jubilant version of Huggy Bear and more like the art-pop of late-era Minutemen. Dedicated Coathangers fans will recognize the re-worked versions of “Merry Go Round”, “Smother”, “Adderall”, and “Derek’s Song” from their run of limited edition split 7”s, and hearing them in the context of the album shows that these tracks weren’t merely isolated examples of the band’s more sophisticated side, but were actually demonstrative of the group’s increasing capacity for nestling solid melodic hooks and rock heft into their repertoire. By the time the band wraps up the album with the humble pop perfection of “Drive”, it’s hard to believe this was the band that garnered their reputation with raucous bombasts like “Don’t Touch My Shit”.

The Coathangers hit the road this spring with their infectious sass and unruly live performance with a kick-off record release show in Atlanta, stops at SXSW, Spillover, Burgerama Fests and dates across the west with the Black Lips.

Tour Dates:
SAT JAN 25 – Atlanta GA, Star Bar – Benefit for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
SAT FEB 1 – Athens GA, Green Room
SAT MAR 8 – Atlanta GA, Star Bar – RECORD RELEASE SHOW
MON MAR 10 – New Orleans LA, Siberia w/ Ex Hex
TUE MAR 11 – Houston TX, Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
WED MAR 12 – SAT MAR 15 – Austin TX, SXSW
SUN MAR 16 – Dallas TX, Spillover Festival
TUE MAR 18 – El Paso TX, Lowbrow Palace
THU MAR 20 – Pioneertown CA, Pappy and Harriet’s w/ Black Lips
FRI  MAR 21 – Los Angeles CA, El Rey Theatre w/ Black Lips
SAT MAR 22 – Santa Ana CA, Burgerama Fest w/ Black Lips
SUN MAR 23 – Felton CA, Don Quixote’s w/ Black Lips
MON MAR 24 – San Francisco CA, Great American Music Hall w/ Black Lips
TUE MAR 25 – Sacramento CA, Assembly w/ Black Lips
THU MAR 27 – Vancouver BC, Rickshaw Theatre w/ Black Lips
FRI  MAR 28 – Seattle WA, Neumos w/ Black Lips
SAT MAR 29 – Portland OR, Hawthorne Theater w/ Black Lips
SUN MAR 30 – Boise ID, Neurolux w/ Black Lips
MON MAR 31 – Salt Lake City UT, Urban Lounge w/ Black Lips
WED APR 2 – Denver CO, Bluebird Theater w/ Black Lips
THU APR 3 – Albuquerque NM, Sister Bar w/ Black Lips
FRI APR 4 – Phoenix AZ, Crescent Ballroom w/ Black Lips
SAT APR 5 – San Diego CA, Belly Up Tavern w/ Black Lips
SUN APR 6 – Tucson AZ, Club Congress w/ Audacity
WED APR 9 – Grinnell IA, Grinnell College w/ Audacity
THU APR 10 – St. Paul MN, Turf Club w/ Audacity
FRI APR 11 – Chicago IL, Empty Bottle w/ Audacity
SAT APR 12 – Bloomington IN, The Bishop w/ Audacity
SUN APR 13 – Detroit MI, Lager House w/ Audacity
MON APR 14 – Toronto ON, Silver Dollar w/ Audacity
TUE APR 15 – Montreal QC, Divan Orange w/ Audacity
WED APR 16 – Boston MA, Great Scott w/ Audacity
THU APR 17 – Brooklyn NY, Baby’s All Right w/ Audacity
FRI APR 18 – New York NY, Mercury Lounge w/ Audacity
SAT APR 19 – Philadelphia PA, Kung Fu Necktie w/ Audacity
SUN APR 20 – Washington DC, Comet Ping Pong w/ Audacity
TUE APR 22 – Richmond VA, Strange Matter w/ Audacity
WED APR 23 – Charlotte NC, Milestone w/ Audacity
THU APR 24 – Knoxville TN, The Pilot Light w/ Audacity
FRI APR 25 – Nashville TN, The End w/ Audacity
SAT APR 26 – Atlanta GA, Atlanta Mess Around @ 529