Swami Records and Chicago punks Meat Wave — Ryan Wizniak (drums), Joe Gac (bass) and Chris Sutter (vocals, guitar) — are excited to announce the release of Malign Hex, the band’s fourth full-length album. Out now, the 10-track album was recorded by Gac in 2019 and serves as the band’s most cohesive, dynamic and ambitious work to date. “Our sound in the beginning was consistently very driving,” says Gac. “Now, that characteristic is merely a tool we can reach for. I don’t think it completely defines what we’re doing.” Stream and purchase Malign Hex on Bandcamp HERE.
Additionally, Meat Wave will be hitting the road starting next week and through November, performing headline shows as well as supporting Metz, The Bronx and Drug Church in select markets across the U.S. Tickets for all shows are on sale now and a full listing of dates can be found below.
Meat Wave spent the last half of 2019 chipping away at the forthcoming Malign Hex, choosing to work on it slowly in spurts, as opposed to their last album The Incessant, which was recorded and mixed in four days. “We recorded [Malign Hex] the same way we always have — live in a room together,” says drummer Ryan Wizniak. “But we allowed ourselves to embellish more and take more chances with extra instrumentation.”
And while the band did indeed incorporate more synths, organs and walls of guitar, it provides only nuance and atmosphere, not distraction from what Meat Wave does best. “We moved further away from the principle that we need to recreate every element on the album live,” says Gac. “There was no shame in adding extra overdubs and different sounds.”
The album’s lyrics center around themes of lineage — where the band members come from and where they’re going. Malign Hex explores a litany of subjects and circumstances: addiction, greed, unreliable memory, obedience. All through a surrealist, collage-like lens. “Everyone wears a backpack full of hexes,” Chris Sutter explains. “It’s heavy and familial. And it’s yours.”
Meat Wave will be making the following appearances this October and November. Dates below with more to be announced soon.
OCTOBER
24 — Bloomington, IN — The Bishop #
26 — Birmingham, AL — Saturn ^
27 — Atlanta, GA — The Earl ^
28 — Gainesville, FL — The Fest
30 — Tulsa, OK — The Whittier Bar #
31 — Austin, TX — Mohawk *
NOVEMBER
01 — Dallas, TX — Trees *
03 — Albuquerque, NM — Launchpad *
04 — Phoenix, AZ — Rebel Lounge *
10 — Omaha, NE — O’Leavers #
11 — Milwaukee, WI — Cactus Club #
12 — Chicago, IL — The Empty Bottle #
^ — supporting Metz
* — supporting The Bronx, Drug Church
# — headline show
