Chicago’s Lifeguard will release their debut album, Ripped and Torn, on Matador Records on June 6. Built around the interplay of Asher Case (bass, baritone guitar, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, synth), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals), the band experiments with elements of punk, dub, power-pop, and other sounds that’s aren’t quite so easy to label.
Their work is noisy but melodically compelling, visceral yet oddly sentimental. The band hunkered down last year in Chicago with producer Randy Randall and came away with a collection of songs that inhabit the close quarters of chaotic house parties and dark rooms where bodies movie in nebulous unison.
Their new single, “It Will Get Worse”, is a serrated, d-beat banger, the kind of song that makes you glad you got that tetanus shot when you did. Its’ rusted grooves are ragged and prone to brutal angles, but there is a spirited sense of melodic adventurism resting in its heart. Let’s find out where it leads.
Listen to the song below and check out some of the band’s upcoming tour dates.
Tour Dates:
June 6 – Berlin, DE @ Neue Zukunft
June 9 – London, UK @ Lexington
June 10 – Brighton, UK @ Dust
June 11 – Manchester, UK @ The Castle
June 12 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade (instore)
June 13 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique (Witloof Bar)
June 15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
June 28 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
June 29 – St. Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole
July 1 – Nashville, TN @ Blue Room
July 2 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
July 4 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
July 5 – Montreal, QC @ L’escogriffe
July 6 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
July 8 – Medford, MA @ Deep Cuts
July 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Warehouse on Watts
July 12 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
July 13 – Raleigh, NC @ NC Kings
July 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Altar
July 16 – Memphis, TN @ B-Side
July 17 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
July 19 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Inside)
July 20 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
July 22 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
July 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
July 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
July 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
July 28 – Portland, OR @ Polaris
July 30 – Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga
July 31 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
Aug 2 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
Aug 4 – Kansas City, MO @ Varsity Club
Aug 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling
Aug 6 – Cudahy, WI @ X-Ray
Ripped and Torn:
1. A Tightwire
2. It Will Get Worse
3. Me and My Flashes
4. Under Your Reach
5. How to Say Deisar
6. (I Wanna) Break Out
7. Like You’ll Lose
8. Music for 3 Drums
9. France And
10. Charlie’s Vox
11. Ripped + Torn
12. T.L.A
Ripped and Torn is due out June 6 on Matador Records. You can pre-order the album here. Follow the band on X and Instagram.
