Swiss Army Wife Share “Aight, I’mma Head Out” From Upcoming Debut Album “Medium Gnarly”

Portland, Oregon’s Swiss Army Wife take on emo, heavy on the math riffs with extremely gruff vocals that is fun as hell. This might seem quaint in 2022, a time when most bands are finding ways to distance themselves as much as possible from the hallmarks of the genre, but the band’s debut full-length, Medium Gnarly, that is due out on the 6th January via Really Rad Records, is refreshing in its back to basics approach, charming in a way that recalls the scrappy early work of now-iconic groups like You Blew It! or Free Throw. 

The previous single, Halloween, is a perfect encapsulation of Swiss Army Wife‘s ethos, a two-minute rager at a breakneck pace stuffed with noodly riffs and hyper-specific, half-sarcastic lyricism. The record’s heavier moments, like new single and album closer, Aight, I’mma Head Out, and the first half of No More Drugs, lend the band some punk cred, while Your Bathroom and the waltzy coda of No More Drugs prove Swiss Army Wife‘s just as capable of slowing down the pace and still delivering the goods. It comes together as a twenty-minute sugar rush, a debut album that’ll impress fans of the emo revivalists and more contemporary acts. Medium Gnarly is the sort of record that already feels like a cult classic, the kind that just needs to find its way to the right ears.

“‘Aight’ is the first song that this iteration of Swiss Army Wife wrote together. It started from the intro riff, something Will was just playing at practice, and we kinda spun it out from there. So it’s fitting that it ended up becoming this manifesto about who we are and what we value: community building, inclusivity, and the creation of safe creative spaces. We always dedicate this one to our friend JJ, who books DIY shows here in Portland. We saw the incredible community that people like JJ were fostering, and wanted to write something that acknowledges how special the scene we’re in is while recognizing that like all things, it’s impermanent.” (vocalist / guitarist Kade Dale)