Today we’re bringing you a full stream of Matches Malone, the new LP from Las Vegas pop punk band Guts.
Fans of the early 2000s pop punk scene will instantly find a lot to love on Matches, with the band being the first to admit to the comparison. “Blink 182 is definitely the number 1 influence for the band as a whole” explains guitarist Kenny Bean. “However, as individuals it’s Name Taken, The Early November, Bayside, The Starting Line, Saves the Day and The Ataris. The influences for the band are very broad, but pretty much any Drive Thru Records band or any punk bands from 1999-2005 would be included. That whole era was what made all of us fall in love with music.”
Besides the nostalgic sound, the band’s name itself comes from their childhood. “Sean [Romulus, vocalist] and I were trying to think of names,” explains Bean. “We were down to 3 choices: Guts, Double Dare and Wild & Crazy Kids (yes, all nickelodeon shows). And Guts was the winner. Matches Malone, that name came from the Batman comic book series. We were also contemplating changing our name to Matches Malone at one point.”
After a short time together, the band seemed to reach its conclusion, even going as far as playing a farewell show in 2013. Fortunately, that break ended up being very short lived. “We had just gotten home from our 2nd tour, we had lost our van in Washington and we were in debt” says Bean. “I wasn’t in the right place to keep going so I had to step away from the band. The rest of the guys tried to keep it going, but it just didn’t work out. Russell St. Clair, who was the bassist at the time, left to join Second to Last. I got a call from a few friends in California wanting Guts to play a show. We decided to go play and it just felt right so we got back and wanted to keep going. Unfortunately, Russell was too busy with Second to Last to continue with Guts so we continued without him.”
The newly reunited Guts released Matches Malone as an EP in 2014, but later decided to expand it into its current version, which also features songs from the band’s split with Anchorless. All of this necessitated working with multiple producers. According to Bean, “We recorded the majority with Jonas Vece (Safely, Calmosa, War Called Home). The last 2 tracks however are taken from our split with Anchorless, which was recorded with Kyle Black.”
Matches Malone will be released on CD April 14 via Don’t Leave California Records and on cassette via Floor Plan Records.
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