As if there was any doubt about Baby Shakes' rightful place at the top of the leather-clad punk-n-roll heap, their new single, “Love Song In Reverse,” seals the deal with a liquid-lined wink and a snarl. The NYC four-piece's fourth full-length album, Cause a Scene, is due out September 20—and if this catchy semi-sweet anti-love song is any indication, you will be skipping class for the remainder of the semester.
Dump a tangle of distorted power pop guitar over a red-blooded back beat, soak it in beachy-keen harmonies and throw your banged up Barracuda into reverse—we're headed back to a time when cramped garages actually echoed with teenage rebellion and real bad girls threatened to destroy the school (the mixtape you're blasting with the top down should contain a heavy allotment of Nikki Corvette, the Runaways, and vintage Donnas). Like all great girl gang codes, the chorus' bubblegumy hook is laced with rat poison (and more cool, 70s-style guitar riffage). So, flick open that Zippo and send the last known photograph of your summer fling into flames (he didn't even listen to the Ramones).
When you're moving this fast, with this much swagger—the sap of Top 40 romance just aint gonna cut the mustard, babe. You're faster, wiser, and—after nearly 15 years kicking ass and breaking hearts across the U.S., Europe, and Japan—so are your fearless leaders.
When in doubt, always take your sister Shakes' advice: “Don't put your heart on the line.”
Says Baby Shakes bassist and vocalist Claudia Gonzalez, "Don’t ask, don’t try, don’t ask why…sometimes it’s not a romance. It’s just the opposite, a love song in reverse. Sorry, not sorry.”
Tour Dates:
USA
9/20: New York, NY @ Home Sweet Home
9/21: Baltimore, MD @ Hampdenfest
Japan
11/1: Gifu, Nakatsugawa @ Big Door
11/2: Osaka @ Nanba Mele
11/3: Shizuoka, Hamamatsu @ G-Side
11/4: Tokyo, Shimokitazawa @ Shelter
11/6: Tokyo, Shimokitazawa @ Three
11/8: Tokyo, Shimokitazawa @ Shelter
11/9: Niigata, Ryuto @ Show!Case!!
11/10: Miyagi, Sendai @ Bar Take
Top photo by Nate Frohnoefer
More from BUST
The Regrettes Get Bigger On "How Do You Love?"
Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries Premiere New Video For “Fat Grl Tears”
Yuna Tries Something New With "Rouge"—And It Works
Hayley Cain is a freelance writer and guitarist who believes in the power of lipstick and distortion. Find out more at www.isyourboyfriendintheband.com and @hayleyandthecrushers, and email her at hayleyvcain@gmail.com.
