If you’ve been frequenting this site for the past month, you may recall that I’ve written about Trumansburg, NY-based punk rock quartet Izzy True. Comprised of Isabel Reidy (who we’ll kindly refer to with the pronouns they/them), their brother Silas Reidy and dear friends Angela DeVivo and Jon Samuels, the quartet officially formed last year; however, the band can trace their origins much further back than that. The Reidys grew up in a rather music household as their father has been active in the East Coast old-time music scene since the 80s, and as a result both Isabel and Silas spent their childhood summers traveling to various festivals. Of course, both Isabel and Silas were encouraged to pursue music with Isabel forming a a folk punk band Fight A Scary Dog, which quickly developed a reputation within Ithaca, NY‘s DIY scene. And with the attention they received, Isabel and the band began touring with a collective of older, much more seasoned punk musicians, frequently playing squats, DIY spaces and the Earth First Round River Rendezvous. Understandably, for Isabel Reidy these experiences cemented a connection between music, community and politics and when Isabel dropped out of college, they hooked up with their brother Silas and started a country band The Realbads, which eventually morphed to Izzy True.
Renowned punk label Don Giovanni Records released the band’s debut EP Troll last year, and their much-anticipated full-length debut Nope officially released today, and reportedly draws from frontperson Isabel Reidy’s experiences dropping out of school, returning back home to deal with mental illness and a desire to find a cathartic and joyful way to combat them all — and ultimately, about loneliness, hating yourself and then leaning how to actually like yourself. Much like the album’s first single “Total Body Erasure,” the album’s latest single “Mr. Romance” consists of a scuzzy, classic rock-leaning that sounds as though it owes equal debts to Marquee Moon-era Television, The Rolling Stones and Pretenders; however, unlike the preceding single, this single manages to deal with the anxious confusion about one’s self and who and what they should want and love, with a self-effacing irony — and in some way, the song’s narrator knows those answers will be difficult to come by, especially if you’re strange.
The recently released video features Isabel in an aluminum jump suit, playing and singing the song, drinking and making out with a variety of people and a shit ton of glitter and makeup.
The band will be on tour throughout the Northeast and parts of the Southeast before heading across the border to Canada to end their tour. Check out the tour dates below.
Tour Dates:
8/5: Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
8/6: Philadelphia, PA @ The Pharmacy
8/8: Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
8/9: Virginia Beach, VA @ Back Bay Brewing
8/10: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
8/11: Rockhill, SC @ The Courthouse
8/14: Asheville, NC @ The Odditorium
8/15: Nashville @ Charlie Bob’s
8/16: Louisville, KY @ The Cure Lounge
8/17: Bloomington, IN @ The Void
8/19: Madison, WI @ Williamson Magnetic Recording Company
8/20: Chicago, IL @ Pinky Swear
8/24: Providence, RI @ Aurora
8/25: Worcester, MA @ The Firehouse
8/26: Boston, MA @ O’Brien’s
8/31: Allentown, PA @ Consolidated Cardboard
9/2: Toronto, ON @ D-Beastro
9/3: Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
