Stream: Strung Out’s New Shred-Punk Opus is the Soundtrack to Your Summer
I’m not sure when or how I first discovered SoCal shred-punk outfit Strung Out, although I have a sneaking suspicion I stumbled upon them via Napster (if the Strung Out guys are reading this, sorry dudes! hopefully I can make it up to you with a big, fat pre-order link for your new album in the first paragraph of this post!). Whenever and however that happened, it was love at first listen: Bad Religion-style melodic punk mixed with shreddy, heavy metal guitars? Fuck yeah, I’M IN!
My interest since then has waxed and waned over the years — I’ve been more a passive admirer than an active fan — but when I got a press release earlier this winter announcing the aforementioned new album Transmission.Alpha.Delta I just about lost my shit. Moments later, when their publicist sent me a promo of said album, I really lost my shit. It’s easily one of the favorite albums of 2015 so far; I’ve listened to it so many times already it’s hard to see it not making my year-end list even though 2015 isn’t yet a quarter done. The catchy-as-fuqq punk riffs, the breakneck beats, the Tasty McTasterson shred breaks, Jason Cruz’s gruff vocals — yeah, it’s all there — but what Strung Out really have in their pocket is unmatched songwriting skill. Every. Single. Fucking. Song. They’re all smashes! Transmission.Alpha.Delta is the anthem for your summer; you’ll be cranking these tunes at top volume with the windows down as you drive wherever the hell you’re going, because you’ll be having so much fun it won’t even matter.
Transmission.Alpha.Delta comes out tomorrow via Fat Wreck Chords (pre-order!), but it’s available to stream right now in full on Spotify via the embed below. If you’re one of the last remaining sad-sack humans without a Spotify subscription, you can check out two previously released tracks here and here.
Strung Out hit the road in April. Dates below the stream.
04/02 Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones *
04/03 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory *
04/09 San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge *
04/10 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre *
04/11 Seattle, WA – El Corazon *
04/12 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre *
04/14 Whistler, BC – Garfinkel’s *
04/15 Kelowna, BC – Flashbacks *
04/16 Calgary, AB – Republik *
04/17 Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room *
04/18 Saskatoon, SK – Louis’ Pub *
04/19 Winnipeg, MB – Pyramid Cabaret *
04/21 Green Bay, WI – Green Bay Distillery *
04/22 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock #
04/23 Chicago, IL – Reggie’s Rock Club #
04/24 St. Louis, MO – Fubar #
04/25 Newport, KY – Thompson House #
04/28 Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar #
04/29 Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom #
04/30 London, ON – Call The Office #
05/01 Toronto, ON – Opera House #
05/02 Montreal, QC – Club Soda #
05/04 Ottawa, ON – Ritual #
05/06 Philadelphia, PA – TBA #
05/08 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall #
05/09 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel #
05/10 New York, NY – Gramercy Theater #
05/12 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade #
05/13 Jacksonville Beach, FL – Freebird Café #
05/14 Orlando, FL – The Social #
05/15 West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street #
05/16 St. Petersburg, FL – The State Theatre #
05/18 Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock #
05/19 San Antonio, TX – The Korova #
05/20 Austin, TX – Red Seven #
05/21 Dallas, TX – Three Links #
5/22 Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
5/24 Country Saloon @ Punk Rock Bowling w/ ** Fingers Louie, Pulley – Las Vegas, NV
5/29 House of Blues – West Hollywood, CA
5/30 House of Blues – San Diego, CA
* with Masked Intruder, La Armada
# with Red City Radio, La Armada
