FAKE NAMES, Featuring Members Of BAD RELIGION And REFUSED, Announces New Album 'Punk Ruins'

Punk mainstays FAKE NAMES are back with their third studio album and their first new music in three years, "Punk Ruins", due out on October 23 via Epitaph. Today they share the new song/video for "Until It's Normal", the guitar-driven album opener that airs frustration with those who believe in today's fascist propaganda.

"Punk Ruins" finds 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),new drummer Mario Rubalcaba (ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, OFF!) effortlessly merging D.C. post-hardcore with modern power-pop. Throughout, "Punk Ruins" dissects the political manipulation and social neurosis of modern life, while holding on to punk's salvation.

Recorded at the legendary Electrical Audio studio in Chicago and working with producer Matthew Barnhardy (SUPERCHUNK, Bob Mould),"Punk Ruins" transcends genre as the ultimate amalgam of fury and fun.

"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 explains, 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 1970s U.K. 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.

"Punk Ruins" track listing:

01. Until It's Normal
02. Good Old Days
03. Punk Ruins
04. Cover The Distance
05. What I Tell Myself
06. Diamond Buzz
07. Language Lost
08. Beautiful Scars
09. If You Could See Me Today
10. The Little Wonders
11. Scream
12. Paradise

FAKE NAMES will be heading out on a short U.S. tour in February 2027, making stops in Brooklyn (February 18),Los Angeles (February 23),Chicago (February 27),and more.

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