Brian Baker from Fake Names/Bad Religion talks ‘Expendables’

Photo credit – Danny Clinch

 

Post-punk dream team Fake Names have recently dropped their new album Expendables on March 3rd via Epitaph Records.

The Everblack Podcast spoke to punk legend Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Bad Religion) about the new FAKE NAMES album ‘Expendables’, his recent visit down under, his thoughts on the punk scene, his love of metal, collecting guitars and more!

Watch/listen to the interview here : 

Fake Names is comprised of members Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty), Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace), Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, INVSN, The [International] Noise Conspiracy), Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside) and Brendan Canty (Fugazi, Rites of Spring.) Formed in 2016, Baker describes the band as a “mutual admiration society,” saying that once the five members got in the same room together, it felt as if they had already been in the band together for years. “There’s this intangible energy, a clairvoyance that comes from our shared experience,” he explains. On ‘Expendables,’ the result pairs their unparalleled pedigree with a pop sensibility that’s slightly unexpected and wholly satisfying.

Aided by producer Adam “Atom” Greenspan (IDLES, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the upcoming album has a surprisingly cleaner sound for the hardcore punk veterans. According to Baker, “The pop influences are a little more out front on this one and the production really helps it shine. It sounds more direct, more urgent.” It’s the latest exchange in a musical conversation that spans four decades, but instead of rehashing the past, ‘Expendables’ is a reinvention that sees the band dialling back the distortion and leaning into the melodies.

Fake Names is Brian Baker (guitar/vocals), Michael Hampton (guitar/vocals), Dennis Lyxzén (vocals), and Johnny Temple (bass) and Brendan Canty (drums).

 

Order here : https://fakenames.ffm.to/expendables