Twenty years after their first album, Philadelphia band Paint It Black announce Famine, set for release November 3rd on the band’s new label home, the historic Revelation Records. Across three full-length albums and three seven-inch EPs, the four-piece of vocalist Dan Yemin, bassist Andy Nelson, guitarist Josh Agran, and drummer Jared Shavelson have been crafting concise, incisive statements that meld hardcore’s fury with a nuanced lyrical perspective. On Famine, Paint It Black shows all sides of itself, returning as inspired—and inspiring—since their latest release, 2013’s Invisible EP. The eight songs on the record are vibrant, vital, and full of unrest, as exemplified on title track “Famine” out now. The song is pummeling and melodic at the same time as Yemin’s vocals, as charged as ever, dissect the rose-colored tellings of American history with surgical precision. The video puts live footage against clips of propaganda and political unrest, and can be viewed HERE.
Paint It Black has also announced a record release show in Philadelphia on November 4th with support from Pegboy, Radiator Hospital, and The HIRS Collective. Tickets can be purchased HERE at 10AM ET on Friday, September 8th. The band is also set to perform at this year’s edition of The Fest in Gainesville, FL on October 28th.
As a band who only releases music when they have something to say, Paint It Black have packed a decade’s worth of frustration into Famine. While extremely volatile, there is also a steep richness in both the music and lyrics, projecting the honesty and authenticity Paint It Black is known for. Lyrical themes navigate the narrative between myth and the truth, rebuking against religious fundamentalism, constitutional originalism, and the very concept of policing. Entering the studio with Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden in Oakland, CA (Deafheaven, Gouge Away), the band recorded live to tape, providing the ability to just play as they saw fit. The recording process also turned into a community experience, with Ink & Dagger’s Don DeVore brings his distinct guitar work to “Dominion,” Brian Stern (Planet On A Chain) providing guest vocals on “Serf City, U.S.A.” and Cold World’s Dan Mills lending his voice to “The Unreasonable Silence.”
Expanding on why now felt like the right time to make a record, Yemin states:
“It’s important to make things that are real, thoughtful, and not disposable. We don’t just put out a new record because it’s time to put out a new record. We put out a record when we’ve got something to say. We’re a hardcore punk band, and the most important thing, more than velocity or volume, is authenticity. I’m shooting for something real because I want to feel something real and I want to yell it in people’s faces. I want to stir something in people, and I want to make music that I had to stir something in myself to make.”
Famine is available for vinyl preorder now through Revelation Records