Meredith Graves (Perfect Pussy, ex-Shoppers) recently announced the launch of her new Captured Tracks imprint, Honor Press, and their first band – Sacramento’s So Stressed. As far as I know, this noise rock trio has been cranking out twisted songs in various incarnations of their lineup since around 2009. Their live show is wild – synth player/vocalist Morgan Fox is failing around behind his setup, guitarist Andrew Garcia is focusing on his riffs off to the side, and drummer Kenneth Draper is executing unbelievable fills at every moment. I once saw them play in Oakland, and in a break between parts of a song, Draper stood up from behind the kit and mimed hitting a home run with his sticks before dropping into the next part.

Along with the announcement comes the album art, tracklist, and first single from the LP. “Merv King and the Phantoms” is track three off of The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art and plunges you right into the world of So Stressed. The song is driving and aggressive, with Morgan’s vocals screaming over bassy synth and snare rolls, while dissonant guitar bends fly in from the background. According to Morgan, the band spent two years working on the songs for this record, and if no one had been interested in putting it out they would have just deleted the tracks and made something new. Now the band is making a high profile debut on a fresh new label, and touring out to New York to play Honor Press’ first festival – A Perfect Weekend. Check out the track below and catch them in Oakland next month with Wreck and Reference.

Wreck and Reference, Bosse-De-Nage, So Stressed, Beast Nest
The Golden Bull (Oakland)
March 21, 2015
8pm, Price TBA (21+)