Toronto punk heroes PUP— comprised of Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladkowski— released their incredible, ambitious and aptly titled fourth album, THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, last year and performed a 100+ date tour that spanned 14 countries. They are gluttons for punishment and have just kicked off a Europe/UK run of shows, so to celebrate they released two new songs. “How To Live With Yourself” and “Smoke Screen” are previously unreleased THE UNRAVELING B-Sides, and are out now.
On “How To Live With Yourself,” Babcock states: “This was the first song we wrote when we started working on our last album. The first one is always the hardest, you tend to overthink everything, so we wanted to start with something simple and fun, something that we wouldn’t get too in our own heads about. This one feels like a classic PUP song to me, and while our goal for the record was to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and try new things, sometimes it feels good to write a catchy, miserable ripper that feels like it captures exactly what this band is about.”
“This song originated with a Nestor riff,” explains Babcock of “Smoke Screen.” “He sent it around, and the thing was so slow that I thought he’d exported it wrong. But his idea was to do a song that was like the “sludgey” version of PUP, something we’d never really done before. The more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. I remember in the height of the pandemic sitting in the backseat of my car at the Home Depot parking lot, anything to try and escape the house, and writing and recording all the lyrics on the spot.”
THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND earned PUP universal acclaim, countless Top 10 Billboard chart positions including #1 Heatseekers, Top New Artists Albums and Alternative New Artist Albums, and a slew of sold-out shows across the globe. The album was recorded and mixed over the course of five weeks in the summer of 2021, in GRAMMY Award-winning producer Peter Katis’ bat-filled mansion in Connecticut. Full of typically furious, ridiculous and anthemic songs, the recording process allowed PUP to push themselves further than ever before. With more time in the studio, they were able to craft their songs sonically in a way they were unable to in the past, and allowed themselves to incorporate new instruments like piano, synths, horns, and more for the first time. Though made in madness-inducing isolation (aside from Peter and the bats, of course), PUP were remotely joined on the album by Sarah from illuminati hotties, Kathryn from NOBRO, Mel from Casper Skulls, and Erik from Remo Drive. The result is not just the next PUP record, but the *most* PUP record.
PUP are on tour this summer, see below to find a show near you, get tickets HERE, and get a taste of what you’re in store for with their latest live EP, PUP Unravels Live In Front Of Everyone They Know, HERE.
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