California’s SMOKERS drop debut album, and it’s rattus fantasticus

OUT OF Oakland California, punk rock & rollers SMOKERS have just released their blistering 15-song debut album, ‘The Rat That Gnawed the Rope,’ via Oakland-based ‘Mouth Magazine Records.’

The band’s sound is inspired The Stranglers, Minutemen, early Replacements, and brought to life by Andy Asp (Nuisance, The Pattern), Cyrus Comiskey (Black Fork, Drunk Horse), Jim Nastic (Talk is Poison, Year Future), and Omen Starr (St. James Infirmary).

(Smokers: ‘Kalifornia Kampground’)

Working from San Francisco’s historic ‘El Studio’ with lead engineer Phil Becker (Pins of Light, Big Business) the group quickly discovered the area they found themselves in was a perfect fit for their creative needs.

“It’s in a pretty dodgy neighbourhood in San Francisco,” said Asp. “I was stoked to see a deli right across the way, but it turned out to be a custom dog food butcher, so no sandwiches, but we found a BevMo a couple blocks away, so that worked out pretty well.”

Once the basic tracks and lead vocals were laid down at El Studio, the band retreated to their hometown Oakland studio, Tuff Bunker, to complete the remaining overdubs, with the tapes finally returned to Becker for mixing, and to Skot Brown (Phantom Limbs) for mastering.

The album’s standout tracks include the ‘The Irish Tenor,’ brought to life by a vintage Hammond organ supposedly once owned by The Allman Brothers, ‘East of Oakland,’ and the reflective Covid-era song, ‘The Strand.

CONNECT:  https://smokers.bandcamp.com/

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