The latest offering by Illinois punks The Copyrights sounds straight out of 1996.
Modern-day fans might think pop-punk was all candy-coated riffs and 'WOAH' choruses, but The Copyrights know better. The Carbondale, Illinois, quartet remember the good times, when pop-punk was all driving guitars and sneering lyrics about how cool, beautiful people can eat a saddlebag of dicks. At the same time, the band channels the aggressive catchiness inherent in that genre, reminding fans that an infectious song is all the more fun when it's crass and kind of unpleasant.
The band's new track, titled Welcome Wagon and featured on their split EP with Kepi Ghoulie, is all about that sweet spot between 'Believe in yourself' and 'Fuck you forever.' The track's lyrics concern leaving home and growing up, only to realize that none of this matters, we're all human, only music is real. Behind those ideas is a bounce-along punk rock rager that'll have fans of '90s acts like NOFX, Bouncing Souls, and Reel Big Fish cackling with glee.
Describing the song's themes, drummer Luke McNeill says, "Welcome Wagon is about not only getting older, but FEELING older, and the battle between acceptance and rejection of the ever-present middle-age."
Blast Welcome Wagon below:
The Copyrights and Kepi Ghoulie's Observation Wagon split EP is available for preorder from Red Scare in America and Stardumb in Europe and the UK. That's right -- two bands, two labels, one record. Get some.
The Copyrights are heading out on their tour, hailed as The Copyrights + Kepi Ghoulie's Re-Animation Festival, later this year, so catch them live at one of the following dates:
June 2019
27 – Carbondale, IL @ Hangar 9
28 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
29 – Chicago, IL @ Chop Shop
July 2019
12 – Bergamo, IT @ Punk Rock Raduno
13 – Stuttgart, DE @ Goldmark's
14 – Dortmund, DE @ FZW
15 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Heidi
16 – Copenhagen, DK @ UnderWerket
17 – Berlin, DE @ Wild at Heart
18 – Glaubitz, DE @ Back to Future Festival
19 – Bôle, CH @ ParaBôle Festival
20 – Oevel, BE @ KaiserFest
21 – Utrecht, NL @ DB's
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