AFI has shared two eagerly anticipated new songs, “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles.” These new tracks – the band’s first new music since the acclaimed The Missing Man EP in 2018 – showcase the bold, propulsive style for which AFI has become known. Hear both tracks HERE. This release will be the first of many for 2021 — stay tuned for news about a new AFI album, which will be announced soon.
AFI has also announced a limited 7″ featuring both new singles. “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles” were produced by the band’s own Jade Puget and mixed by Tony Hoffer (M83, Phoenix, Silversun Pickups).
“As I recall, ‘Twisted Tongues’ came of the Blood era and was the first piece of music we explored on the new album,” vocalist Davey Havok explains. “The dreaminess of the music lyrically inspired themes of unforseen severance. It is a pining song of being set adrift by those who once feigned to share the same anchors.”
“Los Angeles, like most of my loves, is imbued with a darkness and radiance,” Havok continues. “Musically, ‘Escape from Los Angeles’ called for my own vantage to this classic theme of the city’s dichotomous allure.”
“Anyone who knows our catalog knows that no two records really sit together,” adds guitarist Jade Puget. “Some sit a little closer, maybe. We do certain things, just by virtue of who we are, that are consistent, but those things come about organically. Every time we do something, I have to judge it on its own merits. Some fans are going to judge a new album, or a new song, based on what’s come before. But as artists, we can’t do that, because it would only hinder our creativity.”
When the world last saw AFI, the multi-platinum group was packing venues behind 2017’s AFI (The Blood Album), which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Hard Rock Albums Charts and No. 5 on The Billboard 200. It was the band’s second consecutive Top 10 Billboard debut, following 2013’s Burials.
After the release of AFI (The Blood Album), the band was hardly content to rest on its laurels. AFI then released yet another highly-praised addition to their discography, 2018’s The Missing Man EP. They quickly followed that release and extensive headline touring by thrilling audiences with a series of 2019 performances alongside The Smashing Pumpkins.
AFI’s unshakeable connection with their audience is a testament to the band’s knack for reinvention, renewal, and exploration, anchored by an unblemished authenticity. AFI songs are embedded in the spiritual DNA of a legion of supporters, and these new songs are further demonstration of AFI’s unwavering commitment to artistic exploration, a dark conjuration of an uncapturable muse.
The band initially summoned a steady subcultural groundswell in the mid-90s, devoid of careerist ambitions. The band first made music as teenaged misfits in an obscure Northern California town, steadily assembling a dense catalog over the years marked by its diversity and authenticity. Davey Havok, Adam Carson, Hunter Burgan and Jade Puget keep their eyes fixed on the present and future, ensuring their position as a uniquely vibrant artistic force remains steadfast and strong.
Like similarly artistically-minded iconic bands, AFI’s ever-evolving identity has kept their sound, themes, and overall image fresh. A place in rock n’ roll history assured by magical musical androgyny, both post-modern and timeless, AFI remains guided by the flames of authenticity and determination that defined their first ten albums and are sure to drive the next ten and beyond.
