Fake Names Announce PUNK RUINS Album, US Tour to Launch February 2027
The band features members of Bad Religion, Refused, Rocket From The Crypt, Girls Against Boys and The Faith.
Fake Names have released a video for 'Until It's Normal,' the opening track from their upcoming third studio album, Punk Ruins, which arrives October 23. It marks the band's first new music in three years.
'Until It's Normal' is described as a guitar-driven album opener that airs frustration with those who believe in today's Fascist propaganda.
Punk Ruins features guitarists Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, The Faith), vocalist Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, INVSN), bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside), and new drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket From The Crypt, OFF!). The album merges D.C. post-hardcore with modern power-pop, dissecting political manipulation and social neurosis while holding onto punk's sense of salvation.
The album was recorded at Electrical Audio studio in Chicago with producer Matthew Barnhardy (Superchunk, Bob Mould). 'We recorded twelve songs in five days, and all of them are on the album,' Baker explains, adding that Lyxzén tracked his vocals in a single day. 'One of the advantages of us all working at home is there's plenty of time to figure out what you're going to do,' Baker says when asked how the band were able to create such a fully formed album in the time some of their other acts have spent solely on pre-production. 'I know what the guitar solo is going to be because I've already done it at home and sent it to Michael to tweak it,' he adds. 'It's not as hard as you think.'
'This album is a collective expression and a lot of the fun is seeing how the hell it is going to turn out,' Baker shares, adding that the musicianship of the other players helped elevate his and Hampton's initial ideas into something far beyond what they anticipated. Tracks like 'Diamond Buzz' provide a hypnotic groove while the title track showcases the band's undeniable D.C. hardcore sound, with Lyxzén belting out his vocals, elevating the song's already razor-sharp hooks.
Fake Names is a 'mutual admiration society,' according to Baker, melding 70's UK punk with classic hardcore energy and dynamic guitar-driven power-pop. The band released their classic rock-leaning self-titled debut in 2020, followed by 2023's Expendables, produced by Adam 'Atom' Greenspan (IDLES, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), who helmed a sonically cleaner, richer sound for the group.
Fake Names will be heading out on a short US tour in February 2027, making stops in Brooklyn (2/18), Los Angeles (2/23), Chicago (2/27), and more. For more information, visit fakenamesofficial.com/tour.
Fake Names Tour Dates
Feb 18 – Brooklyn, NY – Zone One at Elsewhere
Feb 19 – Washington, D.C. – Black Cat
Feb 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas
Feb 23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
Feb 26 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
Feb 27 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge
Feb 28 – Detroit, MI – El Club
Punk Ruins Tracklist
1. Until It's Normal
2. Good Old Days
3. Punk Ruins
4. Cover The Distance
5. What I Tell Myself
6. Diamond Buzz
7. Language Lost
8. Beautiful Scars
9. If You Could See Me Today
10. The Little Wonders
11. Scream
12. Paradise
