Looks like this summer Ben Weasel will be releasing a new album, entitled “These Ones Are Bitter”:

A bunch of people have written to ask what the new album (These Ones Are Bitter) is like. That’s a hard question to answer because I’m about the last guy who could answer that objectively. Using my past records as a measuring stick, it’s more in the melodic/poppy My Brain Hurts camp than, say, Wiggle or Emo. Lyrically, most of the songs involve the ugly break up of a relationship (hence the title) though there a couple of sidetracks. It’s very polished and produced but not really in a Bark Like A Dog way. I think “Bitter” is more aggressive than that one. I Love Bark like A Dog but this one has a different feel and sound.

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There are fourteen songs on the album. Mike Kennerty and Chris Gaylor from the All-American Rejects played guitar and drums respectively (Mike also recorded most of the album and produced it). Dan Andriano from the Alkaline Trio played bass. The tracking and mixing should be done by the end of the month and released in early June.

This is exciting to me because Screeching Weasel remains one of the handful of bands whose CDs I still take out a couple of times a year and listen to. Aside from old-school Incubus*, Reggie, and a couple of others, that’s pretty much it. Ben Weasel released a solo effort that came out at the beginning of the millennium, and it was pretty damn good too, so “These Ones Are Bitter” is a (hopefully) tasty treat that I’m really looking forward to.

JAB

* It should be noted that by “old-school Incubus” I mean mostly “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” and, occasionally, “Make Yourself.” Everything that came out after the latter licks my taint.