Grumpster Reveal “Vicious” Video & Launch Merch In Support of Oakland LGBTQ+ Center

Californian garage punk band Grumpster have released a new video for Vicious, the video is filmed at legendary punk rock club 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley and includes interviews with members of the local LGBTQ+ community and touches on how important the punk rock community is to them. Vicious is taken from Grumpster’s freshly released Pure Noise Records debut full length, Fever Dream, that quickly followed on from their debut album, Underwhelmed, which they never were able to tour properly due to the pandemic. Produced by Chris #2 of Anti-Flag, at District Recording in San Jose, Fever Dream filters the ghosts of the East Bay’s melodic punk history through Grumpster‘s signature garage rock sound.

“We waited and waited to tour Underwhelmed, but things never stopped looking pretty bleak. We ended up doing a live stream with Anti-Flag during the pandemic where Chris #2 told us, ‘Write some new songs and let me produce them!’ We thought, ‘Oh, god, I guess we have to make a new record now.’ … Vicious is a song about gender dysphoria, and the harder side of coming to terms with being transgender. You’re hurting yourself to hide your body, and it feels like everything is falling apart. You’re afraid of what life has in store for you after realising you’re trans, and it feels like you’re in a spiral. Over and over you’ve tried to convince yourself that you aren’t, but the feelings of dysphoria always come creeping back. It’s a coming to terms song. I wrote this song while I was struggling with my gender identity and I didn’t know what was going on or why I was feeling the way I did. It all makes sense now though, and it does get better.”‘“ (Donnie Walsh)

Ferocious power chords, buoyant choruses, and DIY energy filtered through modern sonics fill the album’s 10 songs, as the band explore the push and pull between dead-end relationships and more introspective moments and how the two intersect to create a cycle of anxiety and self-loathing, yes, but also ultimately resilience. The band have also announced an exclusive t-shirt that will be on sale for two weeks only with all proceeds going to Oakland LGBTQ+ Center, the band’s new home, Pure Noise Records, will also be matching the final donation number. 

You can purchase the t-shirt here and get Fever Dream here