Biography

In the years since releasing their No Promises EP and its revamped follow-up It’s Not Forever, this Charlotte trio—guitarist/vocalist Aidan Yoh (they/them), bassist/vocalist Jake Thomas (they/she), and drummer Colman O’Brien (he/him)—pulled back the curtain to reassess their songwriting focuses and internal growth. Like most bands marching towards their debut LP (industry bottlenecks be damned), such a coordinated effort required a matching collaborative lockstep. Leave it to Jail Socks to carry over the lengthy closer tradition from their previous material, but other outstretched moments, like the scowling “No Ground,” are laser-focused on their targets, whether deserving of white-hot criticism or not. Mostly that finger is pointed inward, like on the dual opening statements “Caving In” and “Losing Everything,” which contrast their despondency with high-voltage pop punk. Fear not, however: there’s plenty of vitriol to go around. The band condenses tired talking points into the relentless “Spinning,” existential road forks into “On the Run,” and one’s thundering chaos into “Sick Weather.” This debut underlines Jail Socks’ rock ‘n’ roll pedigree, melding together Metallica worship and a tour history of Title Fight covers into something entirely smoother and more satisfying than the sum of its parts. As the band has said, “there are a lot of new aspects of us in this record, and we’re excited to share them with everyone.” - James Cassar