Los Angeles anarcho-punk collective Gottlieb have dropped their latest single, I Started Carrying a Knife Today, and it hits different from what they’ve given us before. This one’s personal — uncomfortably, beautifully personal.
The track comes off their debut LP ‘The Far Fallen Fruit’, due out May 1 on Quiet Panic, and where their previous singles pointed fingers at systems and streets, this one turns the lens inward. It’s about that quiet psychological shift — the moment you stop being open and start being guarded. The moment survival starts costing you something.
A Knife as Metaphor (and Not)
Vocalist Andrew Pescara wrote the song on an actual day he started carrying an actual knife. He’s upfront about what that meant:
“This symbolized a closing off from the world; the knife is an allegory for dishonesty, which we all use at varying degrees as a measure of self-protection.”
That tension bleeds right into the lyrics — paranoia coiling around something almost confessional. It’s not a protest song. It’s a fracture song. And it lands hard.
Catch Them Live
Gottlieb celebrate the release with a show at Oblivion in Los Angeles on May 2, followed by West Coast dates and a full U.S. tour through June and July. This is a band built for the room — don’t sleep on it.
Tour Dates
May
May 2 — Los Angeles, CA @ Oblivion (Record Release)
May 23 — Berkeley, CA @ Gilman (Punk In The Bay Benefit Fest)
June / July U.S. Tour
June 11 — Phoenix, AZ @ Central Arts Market
June 12 — Grand Junction, CO @ North Ave DIY
June 13 — Boulder, CO @ Unit5
June 14 — Lincoln, NE @ Duffy’s
June 16 — Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
June 17 — Detroit, MI @ TBA
June 18 — Kalamazoo, MI @ The Runoff
June 19 — Columbus, OH @ Dirty Dungarees
June 20 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Shred Shed
June 21 — New York, NY @ Sleepwalk Brooklyn
June 23 — Baltimore, MD @ TBA
June 24 — Charlotte, NC @ TBA
June 25 — Bristol, VA @ Youth Against Fascism
June 26 — Atlanta, GA @ Culture Shock
June 27 — Little Rock, AR @ Vino’s
June 28 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Grand Royale
June 29 — Albuquerque, NM @ Rens Den
July 1 — Las Vegas, NV @ Punk Rock Museum
July 2 — Las Vegas, NV @ TBA
The Record
‘The Far Fallen Fruit’ was entirely self-produced — recording, mixing, artwork, all of it. That autonomy shows. The band draws on the DNA of Ceremony, Crass, and Refused without sounding like a tribute act. There’s post-punk tension underneath the hardcore ferocity, hooks buried in the noise, and politics that aren’t a coat of paint — they’re the foundation.
As Idioteq put it, fans of Chat Pile, Idles, Soul Glo, Militarie Gun, and Bob Vylan are going to want in on this.
‘The Far Fallen Fruit’ — Track Listing
- Pipe Bomb
- What Are You Worth?
- American Blood
- Dogs, Pt. 1 (Joy to Distract from Resistance)
- City on the Hill
- Optimized Child
- Dogs, Pt. 2 (The Far Fallen Fruit)
- I Started Carrying a Knife Today
- White Vans
- Sugar Packets
Stream I Started Carrying a Knife Today now, and pre-order the limited edition vinyl while you still can.
C'mon why don't you leave a comment here