the Jesus Lizard have today released their new long awaited album titled ‘Rack’ via Ipecac Recordings. They say that good things come to those who wait, and, well, we’ve waited 26 years between ‘Blue’ and ‘Rack’. The obvious evolution of revolution is everywhere musically, but the roots are the same. Think an old oak tree. Beautiful and grandiose, basking in the sun with all of it’s splendor for decades. New leaves yet those same old roots that made everything what it is. Sorry, that’s the best metaphor I could come up with, but, it makes sense. Everything you know and love about the Jesus Lizard is there, but with that added evolution of time and life experiences combined with that new and re-found love for the game.
As timeless as ‘Rack’ sounds, there is that sonic endearment and obvious traces of angst and rebellion against the mainstream that makes the Jesus Lizard what it is: a definition for a generation and a statement for all those things we want to say and feel but feel constrained to. Revolution for the ears. That lovely space between fuck you and fuck yeah.
Check out our other features with the Jesus Lizard HERE.
About ‘Rack’
the Jesus Lizard’s new album, ‘Rack’, is out today (September 13th) via Ipecac Recordings, and as anticipation builds for one of 2024’s most eagerly awaited releases, the band has teamed up with Bill Barminski for the new video for “Falling Down.”
“I met Bill in Austin back in the mid ‘80s. He was doing underground comics and zine-type stuff,” Duane Denison notes of his friendship with the innovative artist known for his distinctive cardboard sculptures and thought-provoking street art. “We met through mutual friends in the punk rock scene and recently became reacquainted through social media.”
Barminski adds: “We all come from the same place and there seems to be a bond between people who were there. So when Duane asked me to do this video I naturally said yes. It’s all hand drawn cell animation that I have been experimenting with. Very kinetic and fast-paced, which matched the song very well.”
The release of Rack marks a new chapter for The Jesus Lizard, whose influence on alternative and punk music remains undeniable. With its relentless energy and razor-sharp musicianship, the album has already garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike.
In the lead-up to the 11-song, Paul Allen-produced collection’s debut, a series of pre-release songs have showcased the dynamic new album. “Hide & Seek” debuted in tandem with a lengthy New York Times piece diving into the band members’ deep-rooted friendship and their decision to return with Rack. “Alexis Feels Sick,” inspired by Girls Against Boys/Soulside’s Alexis Fleisig’s guarded opinion of modern life, arrived with a David Yow-conceived, A.I. generated video, described as “a disgusting and comically impressionistic portrait of American Late Stage Capitalism… with some doggies.” “Moto(R)” featured recent life footage of the foursome, with Denison saying of the song, “It’s not Motörhead, and it’s not Radiohead either.”
About the Jesus Lizard
Since their inception in Chicago in 1987, the Jesus Lizard has thrilled audiences all over the planet. The impeccable rocket-thrust rhythm section of bassist David Wm. Sims and drummer Mac McNeilly was the perfect launchpad for guitarist Duane Denison’s jagged yet clean-toned riffing and vocalist David Yow’s mercurial vocalizations manifesting as everything from panicked citizen, reality escapee or wounded sea mammal. The Jesus Lizard’s fury has carried on through six studio albums, two live recordings and a brace of singles and EPs, with the band’s seventh album, Rack, out this Fall via Ipecac Recordings.
A preview of the 11-song album, ‘Rack’, arrives today with the release of “Hide & Seek,” a track David Yow describes as “a perky ditty about a witch who can’t behave, and it’s got nearly as many hooks as a Mike Tyson fight.” An accompanying video captures the foursome of Duane Denison, Mac McNeilly, David Wm. Sims, and Yow as they recorded the “ditty” with Producer Paul Allen at Nashville’s Audio Eagle Studio.
“There are definitely some references to the past,” Denison says, in reference to the album, adding, “but it’s more as a point of departure: We don’t stay there.”
the Jesus Lizard reconvened in 2009 for a finite number of shows, and have spent the intervening years as both friends in close contact with one another, and touring bandmates. “We literally only made the record because we thought it would be fun to make the record,” Sims shares. With McNeilly highlighting the strong relationship amongst the musicians: “We are bonded by the music we make, and also by the respect we have for each other.”
Featured image by Joshua Black Wilkins.
LINKS:
https://instagram.com/thejesuslizardofficial
https://linktr.ee/thejesuslizard
