CNTS ANNOUNCE SECOND ALBUM, THOUGHTS & PRAYERS
OUT 29TH MARCH VIA IPECAC RECORDINGS
WATCH VIDEO FOR “SMART MOUTH” AND “I WON’T WORK FOR YOU” NOW
CNTS are back!
The noisy punk band from Los Angeles, CA are back with their second album release for Ipecac Recordings, Thoughts & Prayers (29th March). Pre order/pre save here.
The band features guitarist and producer Mike Crain (Dead Cross, Retox, Festival Of Dead Deer), drummer Kevin Avery (Retox, Planet B) and vocalist Matt Cronk (Qui).
Check out the release of “I Won’t Work For You” and its accompanying video.
Matt Cronk shares the story behind the song: “’I Won’t Work For You’ was inspired by the talking point being bandied about, mostly by conservatives, that ‘nobody wants to work anymore’ after having collected unemployment during the lockdown. I think a more accurate way to frame that is that nobody wants to work for people who treat them badly. Nobody wants to work without the expectation of fair pay and dignity. Nobody wants to work for the sole purpose of enriching someone else, and nor should they! Work sucks. I think a lot of people, myself included, are inspired to find more equitable means of supporting themselves or at least expect more from their employers.”
Michael Crain adds, very succinctly: “Bosses suck.”
The video, directed by Meriel O’Connell, who also crafted the band’s “Smart Mouth” clip, was filmed at a pizza joint where Michael Crain worked. During tough times, Crain occasionally treated Cronk to a free slice.
Following a devastating car accident in which frontman Matt Cronk lost his vocal cord – couldn’t speak, let alone sing – the band thought they might have to call it a day. Then against the predictions of his doctors, Cronk’s injured vocal cord began to heal and within two months his voice returned, as did CNTS.
“We got together and ran through a song and it sounded good. We kept playing and my voice held up, sounded cool, and we all felt good playing together. It was clear immediately that we could do it again, that we’d really missed playing together and we wanted to do it.” says Cronk. “Personally, the experience was a significant marker in my recovery. I got a little teary after that first song.”
Reinvigorated by Cronk’s recovery, CNTS spent the rest of the year hard at work on their new record, Thoughts & Prayers, the title inspired by the banality of our collective reaction to crises. With a great deal of inspiration from their recent challenges, CNTS have channeled several years of frustration and hardship into a well articulated and aggressive statement. Songs such as the aforementioned “Smart Mouth,” and “Thoughts & Prayers,” chronicle Cronk’s pain and anger throughout his various injuries and subsequent recovery. “I Won’t Work For You,” and “Eating You Alive,” deal with the inequity inherent in modern life. “For A Good Time (Don’t Call Her)” is a screed about the age-old theme of fighting with one’s romantic partner.
Guitarist Michael Crain adds, “I really wanted to have SONGS on this record. Hooks. Choruses. Shit I listen to. In all times of confusion or indecision during the making of this album we’d stop and ask ourselves… What would AC/DC do?”
Equal parts catharsis and blood-letting, CNTS as a live entity is an unapologetic display of rage and sex, of belligerence and contempt, a warm gob of spit in the eye, all done with a sarcastic smile.
The future belongs to CNTS.
THOUGHTS & PRAYERS TRACK LISTING:
2 – THOUGHTS & PRAYERS
3 – SMART MOUTH
4 – DEAR SIR
5 – FOR A GOOD TIME (DON’T CALL HER)
6 – ALONE
7 – EATING YOU ALIVE
8 – REAL TRUTH
9 – JUNKIE
10 – DROWN
Album pre-orders are available now.
CNTS is Mike Crain (Dead Cross, Retox, Festival of Dead Deer), drummer Kevin Avery (Retox, Planet B), and vocalist Matt Cronk (Qui). The Los Angeles-based band released their self-titled debut album in 2019.
CNTS TOUR DATES MARCH 2024:
March 1 Las Vegas, NV The Dive Bar
March 2 Bakersfield, CA 415
March 4 Seattle, WA Fun House
March 5 Portland, OR Polaris Hall
March 6 Bend, OR The Silver Moon
March 7 Sacramento, CA Café Colonial
March 8 San Francisco, CA Kilowatt Bar
March 9 Fresno, CA Destructive Warehouse
March 10 Pomona, CA Characters Bar (Early Show)
March 10 Long Beach, CA Supply & Demand (Late Show)
March 23 Los Angeles, CA Poor Kids Mansion