Massachusetts punks, Already Dead, are about to drop their new EP, I Think It’s Time To Leave… Coming Friday June 20th, it was produced by Jim Corbett and the band, recorded and mixed by Corbett at The Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, MA, and mastered by Stephen Pettyjohn at Ethereal Mastering, with artwork by Mark Saffie. Find out more in the article below.
“These were the first batch of songs we had after Something Like a War and we were really happy with them,” vocalist/guitarist Dan Cummings says. “All five felt pretty cohesive together, and it’s five songs in 10 minutes. All killer, no bullshit. It felt like the right move after the long process of making an album.”
Over the past three (very loud) years, Already Dead have often been described as a “sampler platter of punk.” And there are several reasons for that, as the Massachusetts band has dabbled in various strains of the genre, all while brashly tackling a spectrum of social issues and human causes, since first crashing the scene in 2022. From ska-punk, activist folk, and hip-hop crossovers to rallying for workers’ rights and calling out the absurd cost of living, the constantly evolving project has continued to embrace the unexpected – and take a sledgehammer to expectations. But sometimes it’s best to just wind it back and let ‘er rip, and that’s what the band does with I Think It’s Time To Leave…, an all-killer, no-filler hardcore punk EP that unleashes on vinyl and digital on Friday, June 20.
The new record comes hot on the heels of last year’s explosive Something Like a War album, and delivers Already Dead’s first-ever vinyl issue. The 7-inch release party goes down Saturday, June 28 at Koto in Lowell alongside Vauli, The McGunks, and Autumn Astronauts. The new record also shows off a reloaded and rebooted Already Dead lineup, as founding members Cummings and Brandon Bartlett (vocals and guitars) are now rounded out by Ian Killpartrick (bass) and Forgie (drums). Cummings and Bartlett, who also split writing duties on this record, with Bartlett taking on an enhanced role in the band’s creative process, did not have to look far for the new members. In fact, they just had to look at their own teenage backyards located just outside of Boston.
“The whole band is now from the same damn small town, born and raised,” Cummings says with a laugh. “We all know each other in different ways, and are somewhat separated by age, but there is a certain camaraderie when you grew up partying in the same woods or neighborhoods. It made it really easy to be comfortable and start creating immediately.”
The unrelenting force of I Think It’s Time to Leave… is apparent right off the jump. With each track between one and three minutes in length, the punchy EP hardly gives the listener a chance to keep up. But as with most Already Dead songs, there is a lot going on just underneath the surface. Each song centers around a loose theme of getting out of somewhere – whether it be a bad relationship, a difficult situation, a person’s expectations, or simply an annoying conversation. And as usual, the brute force Already Dead deliver this theme provides enough motivation to just get up and leave with purpose and distinction.
“All the songs on this record felt cohesive, so I tried to think of something to tie them together,” says Bartlett. “Pretty quickly I Think It’s Time to Leave… popped into my mind because I equated it to making sense, in some way, for each song. Adding an ellipsis after the title leaves it open to what we’re leaving behind in each song.”
EP opener “I’ll Go Mine” addresses leaving a toxic friendship, relationship, or situation with Already Dead’s trademark skate punk fury. “I sent Brandon the music demo and asked his thoughts on it being an instrumental,” Cummings admits. “He said ‘fuck that, why write good music and not follow through with the good words?’ I was so fuckin motivated I wrote those words in like a half hour [laughs].”
Bartlett agrees: “Instrumentals always leave me bummed because lyrics and singing along to songs are so important to me. So when he sent me that fast powerful instrumental I felt with his strong songwriting he could put some great words behind it and in my opinion make it a super sick full song. And of course he delivered.”
The pummeling “Time” follows quickly, the type of track that warrants repeated listens, where Bartlett’s guttural vocals are an appropriately aggressive vessel for a lament over how we waste our days getting nothing accomplished.
“You know those days where to get what you need done, you need more time? But, all day long you find yourself complaining about how hard the day is and how it’s dragging on? That’s what this is about,” Bartnett says. “Also, do you know those days where you’re dragging ass and need the day to be over? You need it all to stop for some peace of mind, but you find yourself complaining that you’ve got nothing done? That’s what this is about. It seems like everyday is either of these days and at some point something’s got to give.”
Nothing gives on I Think It’s Time to Leave… “Gettin By,” perhaps the most classic-sounding Already Dead track that sonically throws it back to 2022 debut album My Collar Is Blue, a reflection of Cummings’ day job as a Boston union pipefitter, soars with an anthemic chorus and relatable career reflection.
“I wrote the hook driving to work on a day I knew I was getting laid off,” Cummings adds. “Just thinking about work/life balance and how people choose to always strive for more or choose to be content with where they have ended up.”
The hardcore fervor picks back up with “Sick Talk,” another Bartlett-led composition that would be a raised fist if it wasn’t busy punching us in the face. “Everyone knows this person or has been in this ‘conversation’ – they just take over the conversation and only talk about themselves in some weird braggy way,” Bartlett offers. “Even better is when you know their stories are fabricated. And as they are talking you’re giving physical signs of not paying attention and not caring, and thinking to yourself ‘Sick talk dude. I don’t give a fuck’.”
Things wrap with “Nothin Wrong,” perhaps the first track to offer thinly-veiled callbacks to both Operation Ivy and Beastie Boys. “The goal was to come up with some hopeful or positive lyrics, which is basically new territory for me,” Bartlett laughs. “It’s about going through some hardships but really trying to make some positive changes to habits and ways of thinking.”
The closing track also came together almost immediately, and helped launch the new EP’s writing sessions. It’s a testament to the growing collaboration between longtime friends Cummings and Bartlett. And though Already Dead have several releases under their collective belt in a few short years, this EP feels like a rebirth. Add another punk rock happy meal to that sampler platter. “As this band has evolved, it has evolved into a songwriting partnership,” Cummings concludes. “We work well together, and the songs we write alone work really well when put together on a track list.” And when one leaves, they all leave.
Already Dead is:
Daniel Cummings – Guitar and vocals
Brandon Bartlett – Guitar
Forgie – Drums
Ian Kilpatrick – Bass
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