EXCUSE THE IRONY

Veterans of the legendary late 90s/early 2000s legendary emo scene, the band’s journey began in 1999 with roots in San Francisco Bay Area punk and hardcore. Their sound seemingly came out of nowhere—cutting their own trail with an emotive indie rock that was a better compliment to mid-western and discord-esque bands from their pivotal era. Playing over 150 shows in their initial run, the band toured both the US and Europe to a growing and ever-loyal fanbase. Their music has been released and distributed on Sessions, Doghouse, Deep Elm, Rise Records, Cardigan, Negative Progression, and Lorelei Records. They’ve also been featured nationally on several MTV shows and the Xbox video games “Amp’d Snowboarding,” “Transworld Surf,” and more.

Their sound has gracefully evolved since their early days, starting with the release of their debut EP Walls Between Us (2000) and the full-length Just Enough Bright (2002), both on Sessions Records (an imprint of Sessions Apparel, a popular Skate and Snowboarding brand). After an untimely hiatus in mid-2003 due to burnout, the band briefly reconvened in 2005, recruiting Jesse Buglione of Lagwagon on bass, adding a fresh perspective to their rhythm section. They officially broke up in late 2005 in the midst of recording new demos and ended up releasing seven final tracks in 2007 dubbed “I’m Your Stab in the Back.” Intended as a swan song record, they topped with a collection of rare, demo, and unreleased songs they dug up from the archives.

Reforming with their three original members in early 2012, they started playing select shows while writing material for a brand new album to satiate their dedicated fan base and reach new listeners. Their fourth release, “Passed and Presence,” was released in July of 2015 on Cardigan Records with an official video and live shows. A deluxe edition later followed with the addition of 2 unreleased songs from the same sessions, along with two acoustic versions of the album’s tracks. 

After “Passed and Presence” received glowing reviews and reached a new audience, they began whittling away at its follow-up, “ESTRANGERS.”  Professional commitments, family pressures, and a little thing called COVID-19 disrupted plans for a full release, so in the summer of 2020, they quietly put out half of the album. Signing with Negative Progression Records, the complete LP was released in November 2023 on both digital and vinyl, featuring ten tracks that may very well be the band’s most honest and powerful work yet, showing the band’s growth and diverse sound, maintaining poise and maturity. They supplemented the release with official videos for “Intents and Purposes” and “Trust No One.”

With an entirely new record fully written before ESTRANGERS was even released, they hunkered down in 2023, rehearsing and recording what will become their fourth full-length, slotted for release in 2025. To ramp up, they are releasing the new single off the forthcoming album, “Excuse the Irony”. A departure for the band, it’s a timely tongue-in-cheek anthem that critiques, cites, and calls-out everything about today’s social state of political affairs and the insane world we’re living in that should resonate with everyone for better or for worse.