New Colorado Punk for Record Store Day

Well, Black Friday has come and gone again, but that doesn't mean you can't still make some purchases because it is officially small business Saturday. And what better place to spend some holiday cash than your local indie record store to pick up some new vinyl. Listening to the Colorado Sound as I regularly do, I was reminded that these two shopping celebrations -- small business and records -- are the perfect opportunity to support the local economy. And in Colorado's smokin' hot indie music scene, there are three incredible punk bands with new music to check out.

I've written about all these bands at some point, but there is news about three of my local favorites:  Dead Pioneers, Cheap Perfume, and Elway.

First up is the notably named Elway, a veteran Colorado punk band that was once sued by the local football legend. It's been a bit since this classic punk group released new music, but we've waiting for a while now since I first wrote about the band last year when members were in town to record and decided to reunite for its only local show in 2024.

The new album, recorded at the Band Cave Studios in Park Hill is, Browne explains, “basically following up and questioning the nature of Best of All Possible Worlds.” With aggressively blunt new songs such as “Nobody’s Going to Heaven,” the music brings a reversal of the pondering philosophical fence-sitting between pessimism and optimism that characterized the last LP. The song, which Browne suggests might become the album title, “is a stream-of-consciousness wallowing about how demoralizing it is to sit and scroll on the phone watching unspeakable tragedies.”

“If this is where we are as a democratic society,” Browne continues with a sardonic chuckle, “maybe none of us deserve salvation.”

The long-awaited release is now out and available at your local vinyl shop. And the release of the first single is evidence that this LP was worth the wait. Denver Westword followed up with a piece on the new LP, and the band has released a single for "Living Epilogue":

At long last, after eighteen years, Elway put out a politically charged protest record.

But the latest from the Fort Collins-born indie-punk crew — Nobody’s Going To Heaven, released on October 10 via Chicago label Red Scare Industries — isn’t as obviously in-your-face as you’d assume from a genre known for telling Nazi punks to fuck off. It’s a more nuanced approach, with political undertones that highlight the chaos and carnage surrounding the Western world, while still offering an optimistic outlook overall.

Original vocalist-guitarist Tim Browne didn’t necessarily set out to make a record fueled by such fire and fury that went into Nobody’s Going To Heaven initially, and considers it “an indignant dispatch from within the walls of the crumbling empire.” It occurred naturally, he shares; he had no choice but to reflect on what he believes will ultimately lead to a “post-American world.”

“We’ve not really been historically a very political band,” Browne says. “There are some songs about politics, but generally, I’ve tried to avoid it just because I feel like it’s really easy to slide into tropes and platitudes. I’ve always been hesitant about writing about politics and tread lightly when I do.

Secondly, there is a Riot Grrrl Resurgence happening in indie music, and leading the way is an electrifying Colorado "fem-core" band called Cheap Perfume. This band, which is absolutely ferocious live in a small club, has been fiercely political since its inception, and it has never slowed since releasing the scorching single "It's Okay to Punch Nazis." Now the band is back with a new LP that confronts capitalist corruption and the authoritarian presidency and which Westword writes "Pummels Trump."

Punk music remains an important, historic form of protest, so it’s fitting that Denver femme punk outfit Cheap Perfume is set to drop a timely new album later this year.

The band has already released singles “Woke Mind Virus” and “Down to Riot” to tease the forthcoming album, Didn’t Ask. Don’t Care, which drops on October 3 via Snappy Little Numbers. Vocalist Stephanie Byrne, vocalist-guitarist Jane No, bassist Geoff Brent and drummer David Grimm have always worn their anti-capitalist, anti-fascist and pro-women political stances on their sleeves, following in the abrasive tradition of riot grrrl punk bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.

No and Byrne describe the single “Woke Mind Virus” as emblematic of the album’s themes, with its jabs at capitalism, Elon Musk and right-wingers who attempt to “own the libs” with “anti-woke” agendas, which simply justify hate against the marginalized. They say the song also takes aim at ICE agents, health insurance CEOs and oligarchs who bow to these policies, questioning plainly in the bridge: What kind of person thinks it’s bad to be awake?

“This song, to me, is kind of like the manifesto for the album,” No says. “There have been a lot of radical changes in the world since our last release, so I thought it was important for us to come out with something bold.

“We wrote it in response to the inane ‘war on woke’ and people like Elon Musk demonizing empathy and saying that having compassion is weak,” she continues. “This song is a great gut check for the rest of the album… if you relate to what is being said here, I think you’re going to love the record. If it’s pissing you off? Don’t care, didn’t ask.”

And, finally, the powerful Indigenous punk rock outfit led by acclaimed Native visual artist Gregg Deal, Dead Pioneers, was recently back in the studio -- the iconic Blasting Room in Fort Collins -- to work on its third release for Hassle Records. But while we're waiting for that one, it's worth checking out the second LP from the band that is as much a work of art and political manifesto as it is a blistering punk rock explosion which they performed in four shows opening for Pearl Jam last spring.