It’s been ten years since Sadie Dupuis recorded and self-released the first Speedy Ortiz songs as a home-recorded solo project with her performing every instrument. Those early collections have remained largely off-line since appearing on Bandcamp in 2011, but in celebration of Speedy Ortiz’s tenth anniversary, they will be made widely available for the first time and reissued as a double LP entitled The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever. Featuring the contents of Cop Kicker EP, The Death of Speedy Ortiz LP and bonus tracks …Forever entirely remixed and remastered, it will also include previously unreleased tracks, reflective liner notes penned by Dupuis, and unearthed photos and journal scans from that era. The reissue features extensive production updates from Dupuis (now an established solo artist and producer with her newer project, Sad13), mixing from Speedy’s long term collaborator Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh), and mastering from Emily Lazar (HAIM, Liz Phair). Pre-order The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, out digitally on November 12th and physically as a double LP on January 28th via Carpark Records, HERE.

In addition to the announcement of The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, today the project releases the updated version of “Cutco” with the first-ever music video directed and edited by Dupuis. In true Sadie Dupuis style, the video is, of course, horror film-inspired. “Rewatching Blair Witch Project, I found the characters’ treatment of one another exemplary of the early 20s heedlessness I was venting about on ‘Cutco.’ So with some help from my Speedy bandmates Andy Molholt and Audrey Zee Whitesides, we made a shot-for-shot homage to a ’90s horror classic—with one delicious change to the formula,” she says. 

“I can’t claim Speedy as a solo project anymore—I love working with the friends and bandmates who have played and recorded with me over the years—and I’m glad I now have Sad13 as an outlet for my home-produced concoctions. But I’m so proud of these 22 solo songs, which I put a lot of heart and time and sweat into in both 2011 and 2021, and it feels right to honor them by finally re-releasing them with Carpark (who I’ve worked with for pretty darn close to a decade, too) in a more widely listenable way,” says Dupuis in the record’s liner notes. “Happy 10th birthday, Speedy Ortiz, and thanks to everyone who’s been following along. Me at 23 and me at 32 love you very much.” 

Speedy Ortiz will perform live and outdoors at Sunflower Philly in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 16th. Get your tickets HERE, and don’t forget your mask and vaccination card. 

Photo Courtesy: Sadie Dupuis