Everyone’s favorite punk rock agitators, Drug Church, have returned! Today the band have announced their highly anticipated fourth full-length, Hygiene, due out March 11th from Pure Noise Records. Drug Church are one of the most singular bands in modern guitar music and on Hygiene the band’s uncompromising nature has resulted in a bold leap forward.

The Albany and Los Angeles-based five-piece—vocalist Patrick Kindlon, guitarists Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha, bassist Pat Wynne, and drummer Chris Villeneuve—have a unique ability to make distinctly outsider music that’s also welcoming and instantly satisfying, as evidenced by Hygiene’s lead singles “Million Miles of Fun” and “Detective Lieutenant.” The two songs represent the essential tension between overt melody and visceral aggression that fuels Drug Church—the former pushing the band’s seamless blend of hardcore bite and massive, ’90s-indebted hooks to its most anthemic point, while the latter shows off a level of tunefulness never before seen in their catalog.

Hygiene follows Drug Church’s 2018 LP, Cheer, and their 2021 EP, Tawny, both of which drew acclaim from fans and critics alike (including attention from the likes of Stereogum, Noisey, NPR, Revolver, BrooklynVegan, and more), and immediately makes it clear that the band aren’t content to rest on their laurels. The record builds on the most melodic moments of Drug Church’s past work without losing any of the combustable energy that has made them so appealing to fans of both heavy and hooky music. Throughout the album Kindlon’s lyrics are as incisive as ever. He walks a tightrope between observation, honesty, frustration, and humor—wading into the absurdity of modern life; the relationships between art and the people consuming it; and the primacy of following your own path—and somehow achieves a tone that’s as blunt as it is nuanced. The result is an album that captures a band truly at the top of their game, and demands conversations and stage dives in equal measure.