Interview: Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms

Brendan Kelly

This past week, I was able to get a hold of Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms before he embarks on a full US tour, including an expertly planned “troll job” of a gig on August 21st at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping venue with Laura Jane Grace. In this interview, we talked about the circumstances that led to this show, the things he admires most about Laura, his songwriting process, and how the pandemic delayed a lot of his creativity and motivation. Brendan’s “Here Goes Nothin'” tour begins on July 30th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and will wrap up in Cleveland, Ohio on August 22nd. Merchandise for the Four Seasons Total Landscaping show is now on sale.

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Laura Jane Grace Surprise Releases New Album

Laura Jane Grace

Laura Jane Grace has surprise released her new album Stay Alive on all streaming platforms. Physical copies are available for pre-order, and a new interview with Laura is up on Rolling Stone:

Grace worked feverishly with Albini on the record; mostly masked, the two never saw each other’s faces. The producer’s reluctance to try too many takes suited Grace fine since she didn’t want anything to sound too over-cooked. The result is a fast-paced 14-song record with the fist-pumping old-school bravado of Against Me! (“So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Fuck Off”) mixed with almost painfully beautiful imagery (“The Swimming Pool Song,” in which Grace describes herself as a haunted pool).

To celebrate the release she will be performing live from Lincoln Hall in Chicago on Saturday, October 17th. Tickets are now available for the livestream.

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