The Seattle-based pop-punk trio Rat Queen is readying their LP Worthless for release on November 27th via Den Tapes. Featuring Jeff Tapia on vocals/guitar, Daniel Timothy Desrosiers on drums, and Johnny Unicorn on bass, the upcoming 9-track effort has already featured the preliminary singles “Anxiety” and “Glory Fades (I’m Max Fischer).” The later, which you can check out below, is a paean to Wes Anderson’s Rushmore character of the same name, and he seems the perfect vehicle for exploring Rat Queen’s fascination with those awkward teen years. Sure, this band has already moved beyond their high school years, but that doesn’t mean they’ve outgrown their adolescent malaise. Instead, reveling in the “non-problems” of youth, the band has turned social anxiety and juvenile angst into a full-time occupation.
Like some effervescent combination of Pop-Rocks and soda, “Glory Fades…” leaps out of the gates to Desrosiers’ carbonated drum roll. Right on cue, Tapia wakes from a mid-class nap and with guitar in hand, she knocks out a terse but scruffy reply, before answering a question with the question, “Did someone say my name?” What follows lyrically, boils Max Fisher down into a tightly rendered two-minute portrait. Celebrating his eccentric exceptionalism, Fischer seems to perfectly embody Rat Queen’s unabashedly quirky take on life.
Don’t miss Rat Queen’s upcoming record release show at The Kraken Bar & Lounge on November 27th. Doors are at 8pm and the bill includes the bands Pity Party, Choke the Pope, and Bobcat.
