After Chicago pizza-rock garage ragers Party Bat called it quits, bassist and singer Chris Clark and guitarist Aaron Turney recruited drummer Michael Petrucelly to form Problem People in 2014. Shedding the zany antics of Clark and Turney’s previous project, Problem People swing straight for the gut with heartfelt punk that channels the melodic sensibility and rough-around-the-edges attitude of midwestern greats past and present, including Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, and the Honor System. Their self-titled 2015 debut LP should’ve been an instant classic of Chicago punk, and soon the city will have another chance to properly appreciate this band: they released news of their follow-up album today.
The song provides a window on the band’s activity over the past couple years and sums up what makes them so great: dark, catchy melodies and warm, ringing, dissonant guitars over a pushy rhythm section.
