Northern California’s favourite alt-rock/pop punk trio StrateJacket are thrilled to share the performance video to “Be My Drug,” their dynamic new single.
This video release comes alongside the announcement of the band’s debut EP, StrateJacket (release date: May 10, 2024 via EDGEOUT).
Made up of Jackson Roemers (lead vocals/guitar, 24), Fabian Angel (vocals/bass, 23) and Nate Mangold (drums, 22), their debut EP features singles like the shout-at-the-heavens anthem “Bad Start” (originally featured on EA Sports’ NHL24 Soundtrack in tandem with NHL24’s Playlist last year) and the ultra-melodic current single “Be My Drug” which include skyscraper-high hooks, both of which overflow with dark humor and contain the sort of electric energy that has hyper-charged the Bay Area’s punk and alternative scenes for decades. “I hope we’re seen as a response to the overproduced music that’s coming out lately,” Roemers says. “We want to sound raw and stripped-down.” But even with sparse arrangements, the group finds catchy new textures within pop punk.
StrateJacket EP track listing:
“Bad Start“
“Be My Drug“
“Cut The Cord”
“Living A Lie”
“Torch”
Mangold also wrote some personal lyrics for the album on the tumultuous “Living A Lie” and the slashing “Cut the Cord,” which he jokingly calls “a high school heartbroken love story” but admits it’s based on actual experiences. “Sometimes I can’t fully be myself around people and I put on a façade,” he says. “So it’s about letting that go and just saying, ‘Fuck it, just be yourself.'” The EP caps off with “Torch,” which Roemers describes as “the black sheep of the EP” since it’s the most straightforward and midtempo rock song. “It doesn’t always have to be 1,000-mile-per-hour songs,” Angel adds.
StrateJacket recorded a bulk of new music at Vancouver’s Armoury Studios in November of 2022 with the Juno/BMI-winning Canadian producer/songwriter Brian Howes (Hinder, Skillet, Boys Like Girls). They also secured the Grammy® winning Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, Muse, Prince) to mix the tunes.
StrateJacket’s performance video for “Be My Drug” is out NOW via EDGEOUT/UMG/UMe. The band’s self-titled EP will be released on May 10, 2024.
Tour dates:
April 12 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
April 13 – San Jose, CA @ Art Boutiki Music Hall
April 20 – San Jose, CA @ Los Gonzales Ice Cream (Only Temporary Records 420 Show)
May 12 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville Festival
July 23 – Omaha, NE @ KIWR River Riot Festival
October 10 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival