Kansas City rock & roll powerhouse the Pedaljets have spent decades flying just under the radar. From their inception in 1984, their raucous brand of scuzzy, melodic jangle-pop and jagged post-punk placed them in league with some of the decade’s most beloved rockers, from The Replacements and Hüsker Dü to Meat Puppets and The Flaming Lips, all of whom the Pedaljets have performed alongside on stages across the United States. Twist The Lens continues to build upon the legacy the Pedaljets have created over the past three decades, showcasing the comfort and maturity of their years spent performing together as well as the electric fervor that has permeated their music since the beginning.
Twist The Lens (out 2/14/20) is only the second new release from the Pedaljets since their reformation in the late 2000s, arriving six years after their most recent LP, What’s In Between. While What’s In Between served as a reintroduction to the band’s Midwestern college rock, Twist The Lens finds the band pushing themselves further than ever before, abandoning the constrictions of genre and focusing on expanding their sound. At its core, the melodic, proto-grunge sound that characterized the Pedaljets’ earlier releases still reigns supreme, but with a deeper exploration of melody, harmony, and pop-rock influence, as well as a newfound writing ethos that allowed the members to push themselves into unfamiliar sonic territory. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Allmayer says, “When I demo a song, I always have ideas for arrangements and all the other parts. But then once the band gets to work on it, I’m like, ‘Well this is going in a totally different direction, but it’s great.’ That’s the beauty of working with these guys for thirty-five years. Some of the directions we’d take with these songs took me outside of my comfort zone at first, but we decided to follow them down that road and it always led to something better.”
Glide is thrilled to premiere the title track (below) from The Pedaljets’ forthcoming album, a “Power Pop 101” clinic that is explosive yet melodic. This underrated band clearly has never gotten its due, continues to churn out slashing riffs and a dirty while of pop and punk.
Social links/website:
https://pedaljets.bandcamp.com/
