A staple in the DMV punk scene, American Television consists of Steve as lead vox and on guitar, Bryan on drums, Edwin on bass and backing vocals, and Chris on guitar and backing vocals. Their latest album, SCARS, was released on September 22, 2023 on Smartpunk Records. They are opening for Diesel Boy at the Pie Shop in DC on July 6th, along with Over Our Eyes and 40 REPS. Since we will all be together for the show – I thought it would be a great opportunity to write a review for my good buddy and the newest band member, Chris (Yukon Cornelius).
The album opens strong with “New Generation” and features Chris’s son in his first music video! This track clocks in at just over one minute and focuses on the current book banning trend in our country. It’s a solid song, backed by an even stronger message, and sets the tone for the rest of the LP.
Next up is “Bittersweet” and again – more familiar faces in the music video. This time – Matt from Our Brains Hurt and Greg from Celebration Summer! This is one of my favorites on the album and it had me bouncing along at my desk while working. Pretty fitting for the theme of this song.
“Snakes” comes in hard and heavy and continues that narrative of distrust and disgust for our current political and economic systems. I absolutely loved the instrumentals in the bridge that roll through before a couple rounds of the chorus close it out.
“Scars”, the album’s titular song, starts out with just the vocals and a single guitar before the remainder of the band comes hammering in moments later. Deep and emotional – this song changes the pace of the album for the moment. We all have substances and coping mechanisms to deal with our scars and open wounds.
“The Creek” closes us out with a poppier beat. It made my Appalachian soul happy cos I spend a significant amount of my time driving through the night for a moment by the creek. Long after I stopped listening to this entire album on repeat to write this review – I kept coming back to this song again and again.
Overall this was a killer album and it is available on vinyl and digital download. The roaring guitar parts and the thundering rhythm section scratch all of my punk rock itches. I am even more excited to head to the Pie Shop in July now!
Breezy McMullen is the Editor in Chief at PA and Find Out. In addition to her duties there, she is also a co-owner of Allegedly Records, runs Snubbed By Allegedly, and is a founding member of the international co-op, Scene to Scene. When she’s not herding children or musicians, you can find her in the woods or on a lake getting stoned…. probably.