Surprise! Australia’s momentous punk-rock heavyweights The Meanies have today lifted the lid on details of their forthcoming record, Desperate Measures, while also sharing ‘Cruel To Be Caned’, the lead single from the new album.
Desperate Measures, slated for release in July 2020 via Cheersquad Records and Tapes, marks the first studio album from the band since their victorious 2015 comeback record It’s Not Me, It’s You amassed a slew of standout album reviews across the country and reignited Australia’s longstanding love affair with the influential punk-rock outfit.
According to frontman Link Meanie, the album title Desperate Measures reflects the drastic strides we take to stomach the current state of the world.
“Desperate Measures is an album title for the times, whether it be applicable to the rise of right wing anti-intellectualism, the associated denial of impending environmentally apocalyptic disaster or the cultural lobotomy of today’s popular media,” says Link. “It’s hard to see a way through this miasma of illogical negativity without… (drum roll)… desperate measures.”
The charging lead single ‘Cruel To Be Caned’ depicts a tale of anxiety, depression and inevitable isolation, and the struggle knowing that such forced expulsion is at once entirely necessary, yet resented. The single also marks as the first time Meanies’ bassist Wally Meanie has taken lead vocal on a track.
Arriving with the new single is the video for ‘Cruel To Be Caned’, a kooky horror collage clip produced by Link Meanie himself. ‘Cruel To Be Caned’ is the first taste of music from Desperate Measures. Stay tuned for more music from The Meanies soon.
