Charlie from Hoaxxers describes the band as Joe Jitsu “but if you like…turned up the talent knob.” Hoaxxers is the Austin trio of Charlie, Kye, and Tron, all three originally from the now-defunct Southeast Texas pop punk outfit Joe Jitsu.
The three of them played together for over a decade in that band and stayed close, occasionally filling in for each other’s other projects, but “Hard Luck” is the second EP they’ve put out since fully regrouping the core unit in 2023. It’s their first proper run together since 2008.
It’s out May 29 on Mom’s Basement Records, pressed to 12″ vinyl with a B-side compiling the band’s earlier singles. Six songs total on the A-side. Charlie: “It’s six songs but we always have a strict all killer/no filler policy so our eps usually have more of a full length feel I think. In other words, instead of having a bunch of mediocre songs on the second half we just make sure the six or whatever are all hits.”
Between Joe Jitsu and Hoaxxers, all three picked up other projects. Charlie wrote indie rock with Closet Drama and post-punk with Breaklights. Tron has been playing in Dropped Out for a few years. Kye fronts Oldie Hawn out of Corpus Christi. Hoaxxers became the place to bring everything they’d learned back to the three-chord stuff they grew up on. “The idea was to take everything we’ve all learned about songwriting since and then strip it down to that three chord style and really focus on hooks, melody, and the lyrical content you knew from Joe Jitsu,” Charlie says.
The reference points are spelled out. Dan Vapid is the throughline. “His writing style has always really spoke to me and the multitude of bands he’s fronted over the years never dissapoint,” Charlie says, naming Dan Vapid & The Cheats, Noise by Numbers, The Mopes, The Methadones, and The Riverdales as building blocks for his own approach to writing a tune. Josh Caterer of Smoking Popes, Zac Damon of Big In Japan, and Billy Joe Armstrong round it out, with Ramones and Green Day sitting underneath all of it. Charlie describes “Hard Luck” as a back-to-basics record for the band, nostalgic by design.
It was produced by Matt Morris (41 Gorgeous Blocks, Fire Sale, Down by Law) at his home studio in the Dallas area, and Davi Pacote mixed it from Brazil. Charlie says it’s probably the best recording they’ve ever gotten together as musicians.
The opener “Straight Down the Shitter” is Charlie’s first political song. “I just don’t typically write in that genre but it’s definitely hard for politics not to creep into your thoughts these days. I remember feeling pretty angry the day I sat down to write it.” The line he points to: “I used to be hopeful and care free, until I got knocked out in ’16.”
The title track “Hard Luck” is the band’s in-house favorite, with Charlie singling out the harmonies on the “on and on soooo” line. Despite being the clear winner overall, they chose “Pin On a Map” as the actual single.
“It just felt like such a compact little nugget of a pop song. It jumps right in, doesn’t waste any time and the chorus really grabs you.” Charlie heard a Copyrights or Hospital Job sound in it when he first brought it to the rest of the band.
“Sidetracked” is the first slow song Hoaxxers have recorded. No lead guitar, no frills, stripped back to the lyrics. Charlie calls it a sleeper hit.
“Against the Odds” hands lead vocals to Tron, the first Hoaxxers original where he takes over from Charlie. Tron sings covers during live sets to give Charlie a vocal break, and this one came out of practice when Charlie hit a wall. “Brought it to practice and started struggling vocally so asked if he wanted to give it a go. It sounds great and he’s always been an excellent vocalist.” It’s also a bubbly love song, which sits apart from the rest of the EP and made the vocal swap feel natural.
“Make Your Bed” closes the record. Charlie wrote it as the ending on purpose, and the lyrics are about being expected to pretend everything’s okey-dokey in daily life while horrible things happen around you. “What that does to your psyche over time (with me it’s no sleep and heartburn).”
John from Mom’s Basement pitched filling the B-side of the 12″ with the band’s old singles to round it out into a full vinyl release. Same production team as “Hard Luck,” so the recordings sit close in tone, but Charlie says you can hear songwriting growth across the two-ish year gap.
“Hard Luck” is out May 29 on Mom’s Basement Records.
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