Coaster began when Chicago college students Matt Kissinger and Michael Byrnes got together to write a song about the latter’s late, beloved dachshund. They soon recruited drummer Tom Graham and guitarist/vocalist Seth Engel to create grooving art-punk songs that live on kinetic energy and an ear aggressively twisted towards pop hooks. The music screeches and flails, yet maintains a tightly crafted structure, somehow irresistibly fun and subtly sinister.
Unfortunately, the quartet wouldn’t be making music together for long. After heading out on a month-long tour, half the band decided to seek opportunities elsewhere, and suddenly the lineup had an end date. Though Kissinger and Engel will continue on with new bassist Dillon Kelley and drummer Marcus Nuccio, the original foursome determined to record one final release together, the Deuces EP.
“Deuces is about how moments of self-doubt can create clarity,” the band tells Consequence of Sound. “During the lyric process, two members of the band had decided to pursue careers outside of Chicago. We decided to make this record both a farewell piece and a reminder to keep forging ahead the spirit of Coaster.”
That spirit is well captures on tracks like the sweet and bright “Cool” and the wild, raucous opener “Burn”. “Running” plays with a woozy loud-quiet dynamic, while closer “A Way Out” is a driving number that sturdily declares, “I want to be a man.” All together, the four tracks make for an effort that’s at once a glorious sendoff for Coaster’s former self and a promising groundwork for the future.
Listen to Deuces, out November 11th, below. Pre-orders are going on now.
Deuces EP Artwork:
Deuces EP Tracklist:
01. Burn
02. Running
03. Cool
04. A Way Out
