Extra Arms is Ryan Allen (vocals/guitar), Michael Gallacher (guitar), Ryan Marshall (bass) and Sean Sommer (drums). Formerly known as Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms, Allen used to be the singer/guitarist for Thunderbirds Are Now!.
Headacher (release October 12 on Get Party Records) is the culmination of four friends collaborating on songs, playing to their strengths, and ultimately writing a record that is as catchy as it is meaningful, as meticulous as it is powerful. Allen’s crunchy power chords intuitively intertwine with Gallacher’s searing guitar lines, and Marshall’s steady low end is the perfect complement to Sommer’s bombastic drumming. Allen’s voice is the glue that holds these 11 tunes together, singing lyrics touching on everything from the political (“Headacher,” “Ends Meet,” “Push the Button”) and the personal (“Honey Brown,” “Under Surveillance,” “You Make the Life You Want,” “The Last One”), to observations on culture (“Done to Death”), and a maturing musician’s place in the world (“Old Heads,” “Til the Casket Drops”). There’s even a song about running (“Why I Run”). You know, like, running marathons (and ultimately towards something).
Headacher was captured at Big Sky Recording by Geoff Michael (who helmed Basement Punk as well) and mixed/mastered at Buzzbomb Studios by Paul Miner (Touché Amore, Thrice, New Found Glory, Joyce Manor, Lisa Loeb – yeah, that Lisa Loeb – and many more). The record slams with the ‘Mats honesty, Husker’s abandon, Superchunk-y energy, and the Fannies melodicism, all played by a band firing on all cylinders.
Today, the band released the video for the album’s title track, which you can enjoy below:

Order the album at https://extraarms.bandcamp.com/album/headacher.
Extra Arms on tour:
10/26 – Burlington Bar, Chicago, IL w/ SNST (Chris Broach from Braid), Lettering & The End of Music
11/1 – Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern, Cleveland, OH w/ Forager & Fits of Hail
11/2 – Yellow Cab Tavern, Dayton, OH w/ The 1984 Draft, Yellow Paper Planes, XL427, The New Old Fashioned, Me and the Mountains & more
11/3 – Big Room Bar, Columbus, OH w/ To Kill a Monster & Life and the Universe