Los Angeles underground emerging punk rock band, Cunts‘s new single, “Ass to Grind,” is bold, caustic and naturally susceptible to abrasive vitriol. From the outset of the music video for “Ass to Grind” members of Cunts evoke a sense of danger, when they wear pantyhose over their heads and play their instruments with brute hostility. The track comes from Cunts‘ self-titled debut album via Ipecac Recordings released Friday, November 1.
At one point in the music video for “Ass to Grind” the lead singer of Cunts, Matt Cronk, is in a bathroom applying lipstick, donning a blonde wig and putting on a pair of short cut-off jean shorts, as if to play with gender role reversal. The title of the track is a play on words with a commonly known phrase “Axe to Grind” which simplifies to being hostile with someone or seeking revenge. The track identifies with relationship woes and the angst and frustration that comes with them. The music video has the band playing in a room that is stark black in the foreground. The egregious setting suggests a lo-fi, semi-nsfw vibe that comes straight out of an indie film showcasing the underbelly of society. The seedy sordid affairs of a bad breakup gone array, might be the exact appeal of the subject matter Cunts brazenly presents to their audience.
The roster for Cunts includes Matt Cronk (vocals), guitarists Sterling Riley and Michael Crain, Keith Hendricksen (bass) and Kevin Avery (drums). Being a relatively new band, the members of Cunts have been in various bands before forming as a collective. Since early 2018, Cunts have already created an aura around their live shows drawing an aggressively rowdy atmosphere as previously reported in Punk Rock Theory where “…Cunts have earned a reputation for their blistering, intense, and occasionally violent, live shows. Equal parts catharsis and blood-letting, Cunts as a live entity is unapologetic.”
As previously stated in The Prp Crain, the guitarist for Cunts, speaks on the groups well established camaraderie and the enthusiastic approach to their latest musical offering saying:
“Everyone in the band has known each other for a long time, we are all friends. The band actually started as a joke on a group thread. We were reminiscing about early Cows, Jesus Lizard and Die Kreuzen performances and how organically dangerous and uncontrolled they were. That was our hugest source of inspiration for starting this band, to try and recreate that magic. A few of us have been in bands with each other before, so we already knew we had chemistry but as soon as we all got together to jam for the first time, we knew that this was going to be a fun project.”
According to The Prp Cronk had this to say about “Ass to Grind”:
“‘Ass To Grind‘ is a lamentation on failed relationships, both specific to myself and in broad, universal strokes, and the assumed victimization inherent in romance for all parties involved. The song also touches on the notion of a presumed heroism in co-opting the tragic circumstances and victimization of others, as though in doing so, one achieves virtue and depth of character by proxy; an unpleasant byproduct of the well-meaning naïve.”
To listen to “Ass to Grind” stream below, via YouTube
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