Adult Books Running From the Blows

Adult Books announces their upcoming album, Running from the Blows out March 4th. Lolipop Records will be releasing the vinyl and Burger Records will be releasing the cassette. The band shares their first track from the album through a music video for “Suburban Girlfriend”.

Hailing from the stucco-swathed suburbs of Orange County, California, Adult Books is a product of the region’s rich punk rock tradition. Friends and musical collaborators since high school, the band formed out of Southern California’s fertile DIY house show scene. Their self-titled 2012 debut EP (Lolipop Records, Burger Records) turned heads with its infectious melodies and sharp-tongued lyrical wit. It has since gone on to become Lolipop’s best-selling and most-pressed cassette. Subsequent releases from hardcore-leaning Vitriol Records and UK-based anorak pop imprint Box Bedroom Rebels speak to the band’s diverse set of influences and universal songwriting appeal.

Now based in Los Angeles, Adult Books operates in a liminal zone informed by both small-town ennui and urban isolation. Their first full-length LP, Running from the Blows (out March 4 on Lolipop Records) is a decidedly darker effort, although the band’s knack for memorable hooks remains stronger than ever. The album’s driving post-punk sound draws on the melancholy melodies of New Order, the shimmering guitar work of The Smiths and the nervy urgency of The Wipers. Alternating between sardonic and sincere, the tightly crafted lyrics strive for an emotional honesty even at their most ambiguous.

1. Casual Wrecks
2. I Don’t Think I Can Stay
3. In Front of Myself
4. Suburban Girlfriend
5. Running from the Blows
6. Nihilism for Beginners
7. Firewalking
8. Silver Lake Goths
9. Lobby Talks
10. Hours on Hands
11. Visions / Revisions