Power punks Russian Girlfriends on “The Day We Put The Dog Down”
Take the slice-of-life vignettes of PUP and Craig Finn; add a melodic sensibility that can resonate through generations of folks in faded Hot Water Music and Replacements shirts; cover with a pointed socio-political stance Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin would endorse. Now power it with a prince among metal drummers. You stoked yet? Good, because we’re premiering a new track from Albuquerque, New Mexico, punks Russian Girlfriends.
A-F Records will be issuing the Russian Girlfriends’ new album, In The Parlance Of Our Times, the follow-up to their 2015 debut, All Around. The song we’re previewing today, “The Day We Put The Dog Down,” sounds like a sad story about a beloved pet. Vocalist Adam Hooks details the situation about what needs to happen in the most strident, passionate way he can. And then you start to wonder if he’s actually talking about a pet in the first place.
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“It’s a song that showcases living with the guilt and despair that comes with ‘playing God’ through the very adult responsibility of having to decide between life or death for a sick, suffering, family member under your care,” Hooks says. “Not to mention the time limits imposed on our grief and choices because we are all living paycheck to paycheck.”
In addition to Hooks’ well-articulated lyrical and vocal rage, the band are powered by drummer Sasha Horn, the force of nature that propels Bay Area thrash lords Forbidden. The indefatigable Horn is technically precise and hits like a prizefighter, giving guitarists Ian Jarrell and Colin Dowell and bassist Jeremy Keith the rocket fuel to propel the Girlfriends’ penetrating insight.
Lyrically and sonically (let’s throw in physically while we’re at it), Russian Girlfriends are setting the bar for the rest of the underground to attempt to do chin-ups on. The world is falling apart, and we’re totally OK with how they’re both reminding us and dealing with it. Preorder it right here, because nothing you’re saving your money for is as good as this album. Trust.
