In late in February, Chicago’s post-punk band Absolutely Not released their new album ‘Problematic‘ via No Trend Records, and now they’ve shared a ‘Problematic Remix’ EP (buy/stream) ahead of their Spring tour dates in April. The band recruited fellow Chicago industrial outfit Visceral Anatomy to remix their lead single Bottom of the Pit and the Texas noise punks Super Thief to rework their latest single Glitch. Take a listen to the two tracks via Bandcamp and YouTube below.
Their April tour kicks off April 11th in Columbus and includes a number of East coast dates.
Tour dates
4/11 – Columbus, OH – Cafe Bourbon Street
4/12 – Baltimore, MD – TBD
4/13 – New York, NY – Our Wicked Lady
4/14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Buffalo
4/15 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd
4/16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Gooski’s
4/17 – Cincinnati, OH – The Hub
To mark the release of ‘Problematic,’ the band shared a wild new video for their single Glitch (YouTube). which satirizes Trump as Michael Myers in dark comedic slasher movie fashion! Directed by frequent AbNot collaborator Dave Rentauskas, the video takes place on Election Day 2016 and envisions a Trumpy looking character in the vein of Michael Myers… the video half pays homage to John Carpenter’s original Halloween film, while the other half is just a big middle finger to Trump. Following on the heels of Absolutely Not’s 2017 album ‘Errors’ that NPR called “…a punk record dialed into an alien frequency with a heavy production that makes the spare instrumentation sound like a spaceship crashing into Earth,” Problematic is a bit darker and has a heavier sci-fi/horror vibe to it than their previous output.
Lyrically, the band tackle issues of racism, homophobia, crime, a divided America, and how bleak it feels just trying to get by in modern society. The band has rightfully earned a reputation for their uncompromising sound that pulls from the best parts of post-punk and glam, drawing apt comparisons to bands like The Cramps, Gang of Four and more. Along with recently adding Meat Wave’s Chris Sutter to their live line-up, the band also contains members of both the LGBTQ and POC communities, so their entire aim, existence and motivation (and that of their beloved inclusive monthly LGBTQA party Glitter Creeps) is to shred ignorance and ignite change in their native Chicago and beyond.
