New Self [CD]

For The Bobby Lees, their fourth album and Epitaph debut New Self marks a thrilling new chapter for the band while doubling down on what’s always made them so magnetic.

The Bobby Lees don’t need much in the way of introduction. Within a few seconds of exposure to their furnace-blast live shows or their bottled-lightning studio records, it’s easy to hear why they’ve earned fans in legendary musicians like Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, and Henry Rollins. They’re as uncompromising in their sound and generous withtheir energy as any of their punk ancestors who first rewrote the rules of engagement back in the 1970s. Led by singer and guitarist Sam Quartin, drummer Macky Bowman, and bassist Kendall Wind, The Bobby Lees bring wildness and danger back into punk rock.

You can hear the band easing into a new confidence - one that’s both looser and more towering - all throughout New Self, from the seething, fiery “Napoleon” to the rambunctious, offbeat take on PJ Harvey’s “50ft Queenie.” This is the sound of a band who’s scrambled over shaky ground only to come back stronger than ever: more confident, more connected, louder and fiercer and secure in their own skin.