Chicago based punk trio The Lawrence Arms have officially announced the release of their seventh studio album, Skeleton Coast, which will be released on July 17. The album will be the band’s first in six years, and the announcement comes with the release of the album’s lead single, “PTA.”
The song and accompanying visuals announce the album with a bang, as the animated skeletons in a colorful desert landscape are shown representing the band. The song is short, but is a flurry of energy and style, as the high tempo and driving guitar and drums push the song in a continuous stream. Despite the extreme velocity of the song, the band also shows an emotional side that is often lost among other bands in the genre.
“For a band who has been around as long as us, this is about as urgent of a record as we could make,” vocalist and bassist Brendan Kelly explains. “It may be kind of dark but it’s really about searching for light in the darkness and finding it, as small as those moments may seem. That’s sort of where we’re at: Collecting the scraps of things that could make for a bearable existence in dark times.”
Kelly recently took part in Riot Fest at Home, a virtual series featuring various artists and bands that were set to appear at the festival prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Last month he performed an acoustic set, as did The Smoking Popes’ Josh Caterer.
Check out the cover art and track list for Skeleton Coast below:
Skeleton Coast Track List:
1. Quiet Storm
2. PTA
3. Belly Of The Whale
4. Dead Man’s Coat
5. Pigeons and Spies
6. Last Last Words
7. Demon
8. Ghostwriter
9. How To Rot
10. Under Paris
11. Goblin Fox Hunt
12. Lose Control
13. Don’t Look At Me
14. Coyote Crown
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