The So So Glos get back to basics but mature philosophically with Kamikaze
The past four years have been a whirlwind for the So So Glos. The Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, pop/punk foursome—brothers Alex Levine (vocals, bass) and Ryan Levine (guitar, vocals), childhood friend-turned-stepbrother Zach Staggers (drums, vocals) and pal Matt Elkins (guitar, vocals)—recorded breakthrough album Blowout in 2013, gigged relentlessly behind its release, then experienced a long, dark teatime of the soul to emerge with latest triumph Kamikaze.
“It was a really big growth period, creatively, spiritually, emotionally, artistically,” says Alex Levine. “Some of us spent time in medical institutions, some of us had bad break-ups, there were natural disasters—Hurricane Sandy, in particular—and there were a lot of trials and tribulations within the band and individually. I think this record is a reflection of that. It feels like a mid-to-late-20s record, when reality hits you like a brick wall to the face. That’s what this record is to me.”
Where Blowout found the Glos concentrating on the punk side of the equation, Kamikaze accentuates the pop side, albeit with the band’s signature unbridled fury and un-varnished honesty.
“It was a tough record to make, and it came out sounding tough,” says Levine. “It’s a hardened record, but the quiets are quieter. A song like ‘Sunny Side,’ I wasn’t ready to write until it happened. But it’s still a party. There’s always going to be a bittersweet element to our music, which is my favorite type of art, the kind of stuff that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. I hope that comes across—these poppy, melodic things and underneath there’s a darker subtext.”
Indeed it does. But the fact remains, although the band went through a good deal of personal transformation to arrive at Kamikaze, it was preparing for those shifts immediately after Blowout.
“‘A.D.D. Life’ and ‘Dancing Industry’ were written about three days after Blowout was finished, which was about a year before it came out,” says Levine. “It was very organic; it just started up right after. Some songs we brought back from a couple years ago, some songs were written two days before we recorded.”
One big hurdle that the Glos had to surmount was the expectations surrounding Kamikaze after the acclaim heaped on Blowout, which generated a lot of top-albums-of-the-year attention. That’s a buzz that can distract from the next task, but the band remained focused on the present and future.
“I like the Bright Eyes quote; ‘Ambition I’ve found can lead only to failure/I do not read the reviews,’” says Levine with a laugh. “You have to get to a place of not giving a shit, and I think this record is really like that. There are certain expectations you have to let go of, especially after making a record that some people liked. You’ve got to throw that out.”
The Glos are never far from the gang vocals and swaggering intensity of the Clash and the Ramones, but Kamikaze—produced by Rocket From The Crypt/Hot Snakes frontman John Reis, who, Levine notes, “whipped the band into shape and helped us cut some of the fat”—shows an increased depth and versatility; the string arrangements on the aforementioned “Sunny Side” suggest similar explorations by the Suicide Machines, and Levine’s lyrical phrasing is reminiscent of art/pop eccentric Martin Newell. Now that the So So Glos have notched five releases over the past nine years, there’s a sense that they’ve evolved beyond directly accessing their influences.
“I think everyone starts out on the backs of someone else,” says Levine. “We definitely have influences, but I don’t think about them when I’m starting something. I think the band’s found its voice. There’s nothing new under the sun. Stuff that Joe Strummer was saying was basically stuff that Woody Guthrie was saying, which was basically stuff that Jesus Christ was saying. You just hope you’re in the right tribe, that you’ve fallen under the right timeline and that you influence like-minded people, like people who have influenced you. I just like to be a part of the conversation that’s been going on forever. Maybe we were meant to be born in another time, but a band like us is very much of this time. Our message is what’s going on now.”
—Brian Baker
