II, the forthcoming sophomore studio album from the Austin, TX-based punk trio Crooked Bangs — comprised of Leda Ginestra (vocals, bass), Samantha Wendel (guitar) and Philip Gonzales (drums) –slated for an April 21, 2017 through Nervous Intent Records is the result of a protracted period of songwriting and recording with the initial sessions being scrapped in favor of much more raw and immediate sound. And unsurprisingly, the trio’s sophomore effort, which was recorded by Ghetto Ghouls‘ Ian Rundell and mastered at Enormous Door Mastering by Severed Head of State‘s Jack Control, captures the trio playing with a taut, brooding, howling fury as you’ll hear II’s latest single “Rabbit Hole,” a frenetic single that features persistent and forceful drumming, blistering, slashing guitar work and a punchy bass line with Ginestra’s vocals alternating between a half singing/half spoken word croon and a ragged howl. The single manages to evoke an adult sense of angst — the angst of someone who has begun to live a life, complete with the recognition that almost everything and everyone around you is surrounded in layers of revolting, hypocritical bullshit, the sensation that the rug has suddenly been pulled out from under you, and the realization that life is brutally ironic, embittering and unfair and that there are no easy answers, no easy solutions.
The Austin, TX-based punk trio will be touring to build up some buzz for II across the Midwest, Southwest and West Coast. Check out the tour dates below.
Tour dates:
3/19 @ SXSW Dethscum Presents: Ultimate Bumout at Beerland, Austin,TX
4/1 @ Hotel Vegas, Austin, TX
4/27 @ Album Release show at Beerland, Austin, Texas
5/18 @ Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
5/20 @ El Paso, TX @ Monarch
5/21 @ Phoenix, AZ @ The Lunchbox
5/23 @ Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
5/24 @ Los Angeles, CA @ Star Bar
5/25 @ Oakland, CA @ Octopus Literary Salon
5/26 @ San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock
5/28 @ Seattle, WA @ TBA
5/29 @ Portland, OR @ Black Water
5/31 @ Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
6/1 @ Denver, CO @ TBA
6/2 @ Kansas City, MO @ Blind Tiger
6/3 @ St. Louis, MO @ TBA
6/4 @ Oklahoma City, OK @ TBA