Formed back in 2018 here in NYC and now based in New Orleans, the rising rock outfit Miranda and the Beat — currently Miranda Zipse (vocals, guitar), Dylan Fernandez (Farfisa) and Alvin Jackson (bass) — have been renowned for their high-energy live shows and fearless punk approach.
After extensive touring to support last year’s self-titled full-length debut, the rising rock outfit will be releasing their highly-anticipated sophomore album Can’t Take it on October 25, 2024 through Ernest Jenning Record Co./Khannibalism across North America and Wild Honey in Europe.
Written and recorded in a five day burst at King Khan‘s Moon Studios Rock n Roll Vortex in a remote village on the German countryside, the album sees the band blending all the best flavors from pure punk anthems played at a eardrum shattering intensity, to grinding R&B, to hypnotic, edgy sci-fi alchemy and some heartbreaking balladry too. “If you need a soundtrack to an evening of Germs burns and mind-altering mayhem followed by warm heartfelt embraces and skid marks this is the band for you,” King Khan says. “The soundtrack to the real apocalypse has arrived and is waiting for you at your favorite record store. Real Rock n’ Roll is alive and well, the torches have been passed and the Molotov cocktails are being lit and thrown. Miranda and the Beat are the wild fire you have been waiting for to light under the collective asses to destroy patriarchies, topple kingdoms, smash colonies with a bold middle stink finger in place. Be forewarned…. And come find out what ‘Earthquake Water’ is, it may one day save your life.”
Last month, I wrote about “Manipulate Me,” a breakneck and bruising, mosh pit friendly ripper anchored around scorching riffs and Miranda Zipse’s take-no-shit delivery. It shouldn’t be surprising that the song brought back memories of sweaty, hardcore punk shows Coney Island High and The Continental.
“This song was probably the most fun to write for the album,” Miranda and the Beat’s Miranda Zipse says. “We were all in King Khan’s studio getting wine drunk and spitballing lines back and forth. We pretty much spent the whole time rolling on the floor dying of laughter, which ended up being very therapeutic and what we needed to do at the time. This song’s about some real shit and it felt really good to get it out of our system in the form of an absolute fuckin banger. Moral of the story: always be a weirdo but never be a manipulative creep.”
Can’t Take It‘s fourth and latest single “Anxiety” is a churning and chugging ripper that evokes the creeping dread, racing thoughts, racing heartbeat, sweaty palms, dry mouth and the lack of control of anxiety with an uncanny and seemingly lived in precision.
According to the band, these are the things that give them anxiety:
1. People who wear sandals on the subway
2. The accidental text on purpose
3. When Alvin can’t find Backwoods
4. Losing a tooth
“This song legit causes anxiety. This goddamn song has got me so stumped,” the band’s Miranda Zipse adds. “I shot two different ideas for music videos and pulled two all-nighters this past week at work trying to get them together between working this job and nothing was looking good enough to put out.”
