At the very beginning of 2022, Vermont post-hardcore vets Drowningman released their first song in 16 years, "Navigating Grief And Loss In A Pre-Apocalyptic Landscape" (read our track review), and revealed that a new Steve Evetts-produced album was on the way too. Still no details on the album, but this Friday (4/29), Drowningman will put out the two-song Later Day Saints single featuring "Navigating Grief..." and the new song "It Will End In Cops," which premieres in this post. It'll hit streaming services, along with an expanded edition of Drowningman's 1999 album Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline, and it's coming out on 7" vinyl via The Ghost Is Clear Records and cassette via Friend Club Records. Here's background info from vocalist Simon Brody:
The first song on Later Day Saints was recorded shortly before the holidays this year. "Navigating Grief and Loss in a Pre-apocalyptic Landscape" was released on New Years Day, but the second song wasn't finished until February.
In part this was due to COVID, in part it was due to the difficult nature of the lyrical content of "It Will End in Cops."
I made revisions, emphasizing the sarcastic elements of the song, not wanting to be seen as glorifying toxic masculinity or "romanticizing violence."
The truth is "violence" has become very casual. Wilder death threats are made every minute on the internet than you will find in any Drowningman song. Violence is now done at arms length, typed into someone's comments, via press release, or by certified mail. Whatever happened to settling things on the front yard?
At the end of the day, I'm proud of what we did here. Matt Roy and Javin provided the riffs that begged for a recitation of every death threat I've uttered after being cut off in traffic over the last decade. Working with Vinnie at the Underground Studio was great, he encouraged me to explore melodic possibilities instead of non-stop venom.
These two songs felt like a complete work. We may re-record them with Steve Evetts for the LP later this summer, because our new drummer Jon Cole (ex-Psyopus, Powerwolves) has been making the songs his own. Later Day Saints is the first chapter in a new book of Drowningman.
We have been wanting to work with our friend Bobby at The Ghost is Clear records, Jamie Loren at Friend Club Records has also been very supportive since way back, Rob Frose and Rhys Meatyard have become good friends too and we appreciate these guys' efforts in making this record happen.
One last thing, previously, I left it up to the listener to figure out. Now I am spelling it out. Take the commotion back inside, or square up on the lawn. This isn't the romance of violence, this is the reality. It Will End in Cops.