The sessions happened early in 2024 at Electrical Audio, with Steve Albini (also featured today in this feature) behind the board — something If It Kills You had been circling for years without ever saying it out loud. The result sat untouched for a while.
Now, the Bakersfield band are back with the first preview of “Arrow Eye,” a record that spent time on hold after Albini’s passing, then got pulled apart and finished following a lineup change. Today’s premiere finally puts a piece of it into the open.
“Arrow Eye” leans into a stripped, direct approach. The band kept things focused on performance over polish during the Albini sessions, locking into takes that feel immediate rather than worked over. When they brought the recordings back home, they expanded them carefully instead of reshaping the core.
Lyrically, the record sits in frustration — burnout, posturing, the sense of people performing versions of themselves. That thread runs through the songs without turning them into slogans.
The album includes a few outside voices folded into that framework. Sergie Loobkoff (Samiam, Knapsack, Ways Away) adds guitar to “Asteroids Glue,” and Joel Brewer (Choirs, Sections) appears on “Access To:”.
The band is Justin Martin (guitar & vocals), Kevin Clark (guitar & vocals), Mikee Lee (bass & vocals), and Tyler Patterson (drums, played by Andrew Winton on this record).
“Arrow Eye” was recorded in early 2024 with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, with overdubs and vocals later tracked at The Noise Feed. It was mixed by Justin Martin at The Noise Feed and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering. Artwork and design come from Jake Van Der Linde (Horse Apples).
The record lands May 22, 2026 via Noise Real Records.
Around its release, If It Kills You head out across the West Coast:
5.16 Seattle, WA — Add-A-Ball
5.17 Portland, OR — Thunderbird
5.20 Sacramento, CA — Cafe Colonial
5.21 Bakersfield, CA — Jerry’s Pizza
5.22 San Diego, CA — Tower Bar
5.23 Los Angeles, CA — Non Plus Ultra
5.24 Berkeley, CA — Spats
Select dates feature Berning Sea & Snailbones (5.16), The Mistons (5.17), Cywywy & Wet The Rope (5.20), Transmissions (5.21), Old Gods & Breadth (5.22), Quiet Fear & Arc Angles (5.23), and Minus Numbers & Songs For Snakes (5.24).
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