Chicago’s melodic punk rockers COUNTERPUNCH are releasing their new album ‘Rewire’ today on SBÄM Records and Thousand Island Records, delivering their signature blend of harmonies and fast punk charged energy. To celebrate, we have teamed up with the band to give you their first-hand track by track commentary below!
Hailing from Chicago, IL, Counterpunch is a four piece powerhouse that has been bringing their own catchy brand of melodic punk rock since 2004. Following the release of their self-titled debut in 2004 under their own imprint Punch-It Records (alternatively titled ‘An Idiot’s Guide to Being an Asshole’ under Radtone Records in Japan) the band began their journey into both the US and international markets.
Touring both domestically and abroad brought them opportunities to play along side Rise Against, Strung Out, and Pennywise amongst other stalwarts in the genre.
2011 saw the band release their second LP, titled ‘An Idiot’s Guide to Being an Asshole’ (alternatively titled ‘Heroes and Ghosts’ under several international labels) with Go Kart Records. Multiple European tours and festival stops later, the band was ready to step into the studio with Matt Allison to record 2014’s ‘Bruises’.
Released in 2014 by Cyber Tracks Records, this release saw the bands most extensive touring regimen to date. Hitting the road along side the likes of Face to Face, Strung Out, NOFX, The Living End, Good Riddance and more brought them in front of their largest audiences to date.
In 2019, the band stepped into Black in Bluhm studios in Denver to record their 4th LP just before COVID shut down the world. In light of facing a new normal the band hit the pause button on releasing their latest full length effort, deciding instead to put out a 7″ record with a few of the B Sides from the Black in Bluhm sessions. Teaming up with Thousand Island Records and SBAM Records to bring the world a snapshot of the new era of Counterpunch.
Track by track commentary:
“Into the Flood” is the intro to the opening track, “Avarice”, and is a soundscape that moves from purely natural to more and more digital and artificial, as if the listener is wading into a digital ocean.
“Avarice” tries to unpack the relationship our society has with the social, marketing, media, and celebrity worlds that have been built around us, and argues that the prevailing wisdom for making yourself complete, seems to be that the more you have, the more you are. A modern Descartes may suggest, “I think, share-fore I am.”
“Calling all Scars” is about freedom and equality, and how the unbridled acceptance of ‘personal freedoms’ can actually reduce the freedom of others. It’s a reaction to laws being drafted through the beliefs of religious fundamentalism that are taking root and infringing on other people’s autonomy over their lives, bodies, and livelihoods.
“Waiting in The Wings” is call to the large swaths of our society that have been outside of the discussion for decades, and the basic question asked in this anthem is, what will it take to bring those silent voices to action and convince them of their true power? And what kind of world could we potentially create if we found a way to do it?
“Judgement Day” is the internal dialog of a deity that’s so disappointed with what we’ve done with the place, that they can no longer determine wether or not their creation is worth saving anymore.
“Collateral Damage” is the process of ridding your life of the selfish, the feeble, and the ones who will go to any length necessary to justify their awful treatment of people they claim to ‘respect’.
“Rewire” is an expose of the obvious hypocrisies you have to hold when forcing your own beliefs on others in a free society. The song concludes with a searing indignation of that double standard: “Accept the difference, except the difference.”
“The Pendulum” is about action/reaction and how every system eventually reverts to the mean. Good times seem forever. Bad times do too, until they don’t. Everything around us is swinging on pendulums and concepts like coercion, oppression, and violence are no exception. The harder you push the pendulum, the more force it’ll have when it returns.
“Vanity” is a song about how our world tries to convince people to be something they’re not. This is a song about our futures and the pointlessness of holding on to something slipping through your fingers, like health, wealth, and beauty, and is draped in the familiar skate punk of Counterpunch’s earlier days.
“What’s Left to Save” is about that person who constantly feels like the world is against them when they’re in fact the sole cause of their own distress. We all know the type. It’s often said that if you keep meeting assholes everyday day, that chances are you’re the asshole, and everybody knows that you’re an asshole! ;)
“Wish You Were Here” is a letter to the one you love from inside a special memory. Taking a breath and truly enjoying a minute with someone you care about is becoming more and more important as we get older and the world around us feels increasingly more superficial. Try doing more of it! Spend your money on people and not things. Turn your phone off. You’ll love it, promise!
“Paradise Lost” is the final song on the record, and talks about the constant creation of a toilet planet and how much of our day-to-day seems utterly disposable. Our world is a beautiful place and could be that way for everyone if only we cared a little more and stopped pushing our obligations further into the future. Seriously, put away your shopping carts.
