Is this an art project in the vein of their fellow Ohioan predecessors DEVO? Is this some sort of mental delusion by three musicians with a collective resumé that includes Sidecar, Living Stereo and even hardcore legends Integrity? Or have alien beings really inhabited human bodies for the purpose of saving Earth by giving rock and roll music a much needed shot in the arm? What we do know for sure is that Public Squares have created a sound that is too fresh to use any existing label to describe, so it needed its own … New Wave Rhythm and Punk (NWR&P).
Subtle use of synthesizers and ambient noises hint at DEVO and Gary Numan, without sounding like yet another cliché retro knock-off. The infectious chorus of power-pop-would-be-radio-hit “Modern Medicine” sounds a bit like Elvis Costello singing for Cheap Trick. The track “Go Medium” starts off like a hybrid of ’60s mod/soul and the angular rhythms of Gang of Four, with an anthemic ending that pounds and repeats its refrain. “Tomorrow’s Dream” is a Black Sabbath cover that alone will have people talking about this record.
Recorded and mixed at their own Chateau Du Mal Voisin studio and mastered by Jason Livermore at the Blasting Room studio, owned by friend and supporter of the band Bill Stevenson of Descendents/ALL/Black Flag fame. This debut vinyl release is pressed on a custom cut square 8 inch record – a record collector’s dream – with a limited run of 500, packaged in an envelope that resembles an FBI case file … included inside, a top secret FBI probe of the band’s activities proving that they are being watched closely by the powers that be. And it all drops on Record Store Day 2018 via Roofless Records.
Additionally, it is released in tandem with the band’s official skateboard model from Long Beach, California’s Factory 13 Skateboards.
Help the band save humanity at these dates:
4-20-18: Record Store Day Eve Record Release Celebration, Now That’s Class, Cleveland, Ohio – with Obnox and Lords of the Highway
4-21-18: Customer Appreciation Day at Blue Arrow Records – 2:00pm in-store performance.
4-21-18: Public Squares at the Royal Oaks, Youngstown, Ohio, with Turbo Lovers and Lords of the Highway