If It's Too Loud...

I can guarantee that you're not expecting what the newest single from Screeching Weasel sounds like. "Just Another Fool" does sound like the classic punk band, but it's a very different version. This might be the most pop Screeching Weasel has ever sounded like. Although it's still a lot edgier than what you expect pop punk to sound like, but this is Screeching Weasel going as far pop as they've gone before. Ben Weasel has his trademark venom in his vocals, but the addition of Weasel's ten year old son Joe (Joe Weasel?) on keyboards that adds a new, unexpected texture to the song. Ben Weasel says of his band's new song: "Sit down at the piano or with the guitar, start playing and see what happens. It's never a bad idea. That's what I did with 'Just Another Fool.' I knew what the song was about, so it was just a matter of turning a bitter recrimination into a two and a half minute song. The chord progression and melody on the verse ...

At this point, you know what you're going to get with Screeching Weasel. The pop punk/skate punk legends have their fourteenth album coming out, and have released the first single from it, "Any Minute Now." Does the song have that early pop punk sound where it's poppy but still rough? Yes. Is it still a little bratty? Of course. But what's unexpected is just how great this is. While most bands of this genre either overstay their teenage snottiness or slowly drift into a more mellow and mediocre sound, Ben Weasel has been able to sound older and more mature without losing what makes Screeching Wesel so beloved. "Any Minute Now" is exactly what Screeching Weasel should sound like thirty six years into their career. You can listen to "Any Minute Now" below. The Awful Disclosures of Screeching Weasel is due out July 15, and will be available on vinyl via Striped Records, CD via Rum Bar Records, and digitally on Monona Music. You can start here for...