Desperate Acts single 'Drying Out' from their release 'State Secrets' coming out on September 10th
Desperate Acts emerges as a fresh band with confident, passionate, yet gritty melodies.
Their debut album, coming out September 10th on SBÄM (Worldwide) and Kings Road (US) titled 'State Secrets' is a call to start paying closer attention beyond your own backyard.
Singer Matt Keil explained, “I think the recurring theme is being aware of constant, abject horror in the world and how to be part of a positive change versus being focused on very small daily challenges and issues that are not really that important. The song 'Drying Out' is a nod to all of the ways we waste our time when there are bigger problems to fix, there’s darkness present in the song, but it’s never over-dramatic and there’s a clear undercurrent of hope and perseverance.
About Desperate Acts:
Desperate Acts’ previous bands seem incongruent with their sound at first, so it’s not easy to tag them as “Ex-members of_______” and have an introductory catchphrase be relevant in any way. From hardcore mainstays Comeback Kid, to punk stalwarts Arms Aloft, to metalcore bands like Martyr AD, the quartet are no strangers to touring or creating music. Minneapolis is a city where genres and bands have always been blended and accepted that someone could play in a band known for fury and aggression on stages across five continents and then write songs where melody, harmony, and dynamics are upfront. Matt Keil told New Noise Magazine, “We had an identity crisis trying to write our first few songs as a band. There was a conscious effort to try and differentiate from our earlier bands and add in newer elements that often resulted in a mess. I think we’ve settled in and become more comfortable with what and who we are.”
About the album State Secrets:
State Secrets was originally meant to be tracked in Boston with producer Jay Maas at Getaway Recording. His resume includes everything from Bane and Defeater to Citizen and Title Fight (and Jennifer Rostock). To navigate the 2020 lockdowns, it was instead tracked with Brian Herb at Mother of All Music in St. Paul, Minnesota after pre-production was done virtually with Jay over a few months. Brian is normally touring doing tech and sound work for Alice in Chains and Jerry Cantrell and his resume includes everything from Helmet to Bush with a long list of live and studio recording credits. Jay collaborated with Brian to get the mixing and mastering done. Drummer Karl Hensel recalled, “I wouldn’t recommend doing demos recorded on Iphones, communicating about songs via youtube and Facetime, then recording one person at a time with another engineer in the midst of a pandemic, after writing music together and navigating quarantine safely throughout. However, if we had recorded when we booked time with Jay, six of these songs wouldn’t have made the record. We made the most of the longer, slower process. It’s weird to say it now, but I know I needed the distraction and we have a better record because of it.”
For more information or to book an interview please contact Melanie at info@melaniekayepr.com