Comprised of Corey Cunningham (guitar vocals), Phil Benson (bass, vocals) and Nathan Sweatt (drums), punk rock trio Terry Malts have developed a reputation for doing things in prototypical DIY fashion; in fact, the trio self-produced and self-recorded their first two albums in their rehearsal space. Since the release of their critically applauded Nobody Realizes This Is Nowhere in 2013, the members of the trio have been pretty busy — after a busy live show schedule that included both local shows and touring, Cunningham and Benson had spent the better part of the following year writing, re-writing and revising the material that would eventually comprise their long-awaited third full-length effort, Lost At The Party in Los Angeles, where Cunningham had since relocated.
During the writing sessions for Party, Cunningham and Benson had decided that for their third album, that they wanted to broaden the band’s sound by creating a kaleidoscopic pop album that had a mixture of moods, with each song turning to a different sound inspired by the albums that influenced and inspired the band over the years. And as a result, the album’s material manages to retain the something of the gritty and grimy punk rock that first caught the attention of the blogosphere, while equally drawing from jangling and shimmering indie pop and power pop. Once they were finished writing and felt they were ready to record, the members of the band then enlisted Monte Vallier, best known for his work with Soft Moon and Weekend Swell to co-produce the band’s first album actually recorded in a professional studio.
Unsurprisingly, Lost At The Party’s first single possesses an obvious professional recording studio sheen without scrubbing the band’s penchant for crafting catchy hooks, layers of buzzing and angular guitar chords and harmonized vocals; in fact, in some way the song sounds as though it drew from The Clash‘s “Spanish Bombs” and “Lost In The Supermarket.” And interestingly enough, the sonic refinement reveals that the band can write an infectious yet carefully crafted jangling pop song that sounds as though it came out in 1983.
The band is currently touring to support the new effort, check out the tour dates below. And it includes an October 24 stop at Shea Stadium.
Tour Dates:
Sept 2 – Santa Cruz, CA – Crepe Place
Oct 8 – Carmel, CA The Rumpus
Oct 9 – Los Angeles, CA – The Hi Hat,(Release show w/ Devon Williams & Susan)
Oct 10 – San Francisco, CA – Hemlock (Release show w/ Chook Race & Lovebirds)
Oct 22 – Baltimore, MD – U+N Fest
Oct 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
Oct 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Shea Stadium
Oct 25 – Allston, MA – O’Brien’s Pub
Oct 27 – Detroit, MI – UFO Factory
Oct 28 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean
Oct 29 – St Louis, MO – San Loo
Nov 18 – Seattle, WA – Vera Project
Nov 19 – Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
