Pre-order The Slackers' first album in six years on orange/yellow galaxy vinyl.
NYC ska icons The Slackers have been very active in recent years, but they haven't released a new album since their 2016 self-titled LP. That changes this year with their first album in six years (and at least their 15th overall, depending on how you count the early self-releases and live albums, etc), Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya, due April 15 via Pirates Press Records (pre-order on orange/yellow galaxy vinyl). We're premiering the title track, a bright, soulful song with a relaxed rocksteady/trad-ska vibe, and it comes with a puppet-filled video that you can watch below.
"In the middle of 2020, every time we started doing a livestream, we would stay after and start recording new music," saxophonist Dave Hillyard tells us. "By the middle of 2021, we had an album recorded. A lot of these tunes like ‘Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya' were written right after we had just gotten out of lockdown. It was May 2020 and the sun was out, the Covid had receded, but it was by no means gone."
"Yeah, it’s the springtime… it looks really nice thru the window," vocalist/keyboardist Vic Ruggiero adds about the new single. "The sun feels good… You go outside and all of a sudden you realize it’s winter still… You gotta run back inside and get a coat, your big heavy winter coat. Looks good out there, but be careful before you go jumping in the lake in your bathing suit. That feeling applies to everything these days… it’s like you thought you put sugar in your coffee, but it was salt."
The video was made by Jessica 'the letter Jess' Breschard, who adds, "Before I made the puppets I asked the puppeteer Tim Lagasse for advice, and he showed me a photo of two inch puppets he built, and told me to build very small, so that’s kind of where the egg idea came in. And for years when my kids were little I felt like I could not get away from the kitchen sink, so the kitchen seemed to make sense as a setting for a Covid/quarantine theme."
The Slackers also have upcoming tour dates, including a hometown-area show at Jersey City's White Eagle Hall on May 7 (tickets). All dates here.
Check out the new song/video below. Here's a mockup of the orange/yellow vinyl variant that you can pre-order in our store:
Slackers
Tracklist
1. Windowland
2. Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya
3. Hanging On
4. I Almost Lost You
5. They Are Losing
6. Shameboy
7. Statehouse
8. Second Best
9. Nobody's Listening
10. Way Of A Woman
11. Boogie Nowhere
12. Time Won't Set You Free