American Lips Go On Strike! with a Sharp, Sardonic Art-Rock Manifesto
Montréal / Los Angeles trio American Lips return with their explosive new full-length On Strike! via Ancient Fashion Recordsm a jagged, art-rock statement that slots neatly alongside Wire, Pixies, Devo, and Parquet Courts, yet stands firmly on its own two feet. If 2022’s Waste of Crime was their eccentric calling card , one that earned spins across alt and college radio, On Strike! doubles down, fusing absurdist humor with taut rhythms, splintered guitar work, and a dry, sardonic wit that will make fans of The Fall, Pere Ubu, and ESG sit up straight.
With On Strike!, American Lips sharpen their sound and their message, channeling a blend of frustration and fun into something both cathartic and clever — a jagged, danceable anti-burnout manifesto for the modern age.
Fronted by Adrian Popovich (of Tricky Woo and FRVITS), the band’s sound is anchored by his wiry guitar work and commanding vocals. He’s joined by Jessica Bruzzese on bass and vocals, and Sebastien Grainger, best known for his gold-certified success with Death From Above 1979, on drums and mixing duties. Together, the trio strike a balance between underground grit and veteran finesse — channeling noise, urgency, and humor into songs that pulse with both rebellion and playfulness.
The band’s journey from 2017’s Kiss the Void (a raw blast of garage-wave chaos) through 2022’s Waste of Crime / Labor of Hate (an art-rock experiment in sample collage) leads naturally to On Strike!, a caustic yet oddly joyful critique of late-capitalist burnout culture. Tracks like “Cardboard Trash” skewer consumerism, “Sleep” and the title track “On Strike” take aim at overwork and exhaustion, while “Got It Made” drags the myths of empire through the dirt — all with tongue firmly in cheek.
This is underground art-rock with a pulse — wiry, witty, and defiantly human. American Lips turn critique into catharsis, proving that even as the world frays at the edges, there’s still joy to be found in refusal. Their DNA runs close to Gang of Four and Talking Heads, yet they wear their crooked grin proudly, laughing at the collapse while soundtracking it.
Produced and recorded between Ancient Fashion East (Montréal) and Ancient Fashion West (Lucknow, Ontario / Los Angeles), On Strike! captures the immediacy of analog energy. Mixed by Grainger and co-produced by Popovich — whose credits include SUUNS, Priors, The Sheepdogs, Duchess Says, and Sam Roberts Band — the album bridges underground bite with veteran polish.
If Waste of Crime cracked the door open, On Strike! kicks it wide — a bold, noisy testament that refusal can sound like joy, and that even in the rubble, American Lips still find something worth shouting about.
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https://americanlips.bandcamp.com/album/on-strike
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