Already Dead declare a dignified purpose on the confrontational ‘Something Like A War’
Massachusetts punk band led by Dan Cummings goes full-throttle on an unapologetic and unforgiving sophomore album out Friday, July 26
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘Something Like A War’ on Spotify
Feverish ska-punk title track is now streaming: Listen
Watch ‘The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue’ video
Album release party set for July 27 at Lowell’s Thirsty First with Lenny Lashley and others
BOSTON, MA [July 26, 2024] – By now everyone knows that old adage about making albums, about how a band has its entire life to craft the first one but only a year or two to write the second. It’s a cautionary tale built around creative pressure, unforgiving deadlines, and how a songwriter is now saddled with the expectation to not only maintain, but build upon, any success of the band’s debut.
Already Dead do not give a fuck about any of that.
Instead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Dan Cummings has taken an inspired approach in creating Something Like A War, Already Dead’s relentless and confrontational new album set for release on Friday, July 27 on CD and streaming, with the raucous release party going down the next night at Thirsty First in Lowell. He’s assembled his crew, leaned in to the energy around him, and allowed the seeds of his songwriting to take a louder, more aggressive shape than the Boston punk band’s 2022 debut album My Collar Is Blue.
“At the time of creating and recording My Collar Is Blue, Already Dead was a project,” Cummings says. “This time around, we’re a band creating an album. We have a vibe when we play together live, where inspiration comes on the spot for a new melody or drum fill. We knew what we stand for as a band and what time of sound and message we wanted to capture and put on record.”
Led by a fiery May rallying cry of a single in “The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue,” which was premiered by The Spill Magazine and hailed by GBH’s The Culture Show, WBUR Boston’s NPR, and a host of independent blogs and radio stations around New England and beyond, the unapologetic Something Like A War is a statement of purpose. And like the gang vocals that permeate through the record, which showcases the band’s trademark punk rock diversity, there are many who have Cummings’ back as Already Dead prepare to make an even greater dent in the world.
Something Like A War packs 14 songs of punk fury fueled by aggression, observation and self reflection, and the battles we all face from external forces and internal demons. The title track, a ska-punk powderkeg that boasts Already Dead’s tireless, yet diverse, nature, hits the streams on June 28. “Something Like A War,” the single, is a missile of a song that clocks in at under two minutes. And might just create a new wave of ska-punk on its own.
“It’s about our personal battles – we all know ‘em, we all have ‘em,” Cummings says of the Something Like A War title track. “The struggle we go through to make the right decisions, day in and day out. Accepting we will make mistakes along the way. But still fighting every day, sometimes to amend the sins of yesterday. This and ‘Spirit’ represent the vibe I think the album encapsulates. Lyrically they have themes of social commentary and self-reflection, and musically both are on the harder side.”
Something Like A War, both the song and the album, brims with the type of intensity we all need in facing our daily lives – and maintains the Already Dead working class ethos, positioned steadfast as a voice for labor movements and working class solidarity. And besides, there’s no chance of a sophomore slump when the moniker is nicked from baseball, yet another way Already Dead are embedded in Boston culture.
“I was watching the Ken Burns documentary on baseball,” Cummings admits, “and heard the Ty Cobb quote about how ‘every game is something like a war’. It immediately resonated with me for a few reasons. First it just sounds badass [laughs]. But also to describe approaching something with that kind of intensity and determination struck a chord.”
And that’s something Cummings knows all too well. Something Like A War is a comprehensive and expansive album that lyrically touches on social commentary and self-reflection. But it’s also one of collaboration: Guitarist Brandon Barlett has taken on co-vocalist duties, adding some snarl to the band’s already incendiary sound; drummer Nick Cali has found a dynamic rhythm in applying the type of backbeat needed to hold this machine together; and new recruit bassist Brian Ferrazzani has helped provide a richer, fuller sound, as well as lineup versatility.
Beyond the band, the Already Dead crew rolls deep, with each contributor an honorary member: Engineer Jimmy Corbett, who recorded the record at the Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, Massachusetts; longtime video collaborator Roberto Terrones of Berto Media, who created “The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue” music video; longtime confidant and lyricist BOS The Rapper; and designer Mark Saffie of Saffie Design, who crafts the Already Dead single and album artwork, as well as logos.
The team around Already Dead helps sharpen the message, the approach, and the directive. They’re the ones who knock before Already Dead kicks the fucking door down.
“Musically, we’re just going for it,” Cummings says. “We are inspired by a lot of music, which can find its way into our songs. That can be great, and that can be risky. It’s a fine line to walk when blending styles. But when we write, it isn’t pre-decided. It comes from real inspiration in the moment. So when we dig the outcome, its like ‘fuck it, let’s capture it’. Then we went back and listened to demos to craft the album, and these flowed together. These songs as a whole describe where we are at, always evolving.”
In the age of the single, Already Dead have created a beast of an album that demands you to listen. From the aforementioned “The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue” tackling Boston’s social inequality along a 16-mile stretch of road that connects posh suburbs to gritty homeless encampments in the heart of the city to “Landlord,” a previously acoustic rager about the cost of living that gets the full-throttle, plugged in treatment, Already Dead, with its blue collar mindset intact – Cummings is a longtime Boston union pipefitter – are relaying stories from the communities around us.
“Rock Bottom” skillfully reminds us through an anthemic chorus that we’re closer to the bottom than we are to the top; the street punk punch of “One Foot” echoes our daily struggles to keep it together mentally; and the unplugged “Unsung Heroes” reminds us that it’s the workforce that’s the backbone of society. Cummings even gets into non-fiction territory on “The Romeo Club,” taking a chapter out of the Tom Brokaw book The Greatest Generation about Cummings’ family member John “Lefty” Caulfield and his neighborhood friends from Cambridge, dubbed “Retired Old Men Eating Out,” and telling the gang’s story before and after their service in World War II. It even name-drops Charlie’s Kitchen.
Through it all, Cummings still retains his punk rock troubadour knack for Irish folklore storytelling and fist-to-the-face urgency – from the overwhelming stress ball of motivation called “Wit’s End” to the sweeping call for memories in “Shards of Glass” to the big room horn section of “Keep It Moving” – but here there’s an overarching lesson in dignity and perseverance in times of adversity. Each track tells a story, each track demands the listener pay attention.
“I hope people enjoy the record, first and foremost,” Cummings admits. “I hope it’s something they would hit repeat on. Then, from enjoying the song as a whole, they may connect with some lyric or melody that they didn’t catch the first time around, and keep finding those connections.”
Connections, as it turns out, are what led Cummings to this moment in the first place.
‘Something Like A War’ album artwork:
Artwork by Mark Saffie @ Saffie Design
Already Dead is:
Daniel Cummings – Guitar and vocals
Brandon Bartlett – Guitar
Brian Ferrazzani – Bass
Nick Cali – Drums
‘Something Like A War’ production credits:
Words and music by Already Dead
Performed by Already Dead
Recorded at the Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, MA
Engineered and mixed by Jimmy Corbett
Produced by Already Dead and Jimmy Corbett
Mastered by Stephen Pettyjohn at Ethereal Mastering
Music video by Roberto Terrones at Berto Media
Artwork by Mark Saffie @ Saffie Design
Already Dead short bio:
The sound of punk has changed, and so have the bands that define the genre. But some attitudes remain steady, and one of the more vocal and proactive groups to hit the scene is Already Dead, a three-piece band hailing from Massachusetts. Led by songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Dan Cummings, Already Dead is composed of blue collar musicians (rounded out by bassist Brandon Bartlett and drummer Nick Cali) that unequivocally support the middle class and the true builders and visionaries of every city and town. Before forming Already Dead, its members were raised on punk, ska, and hardcore bands, and mix in other influences across a spectrum of genres to create a sound that’s entirely their own.
Already Dead crashed the scene in Summer 2022 with debut single “Stability,” which instantly caught attention in their native New England. Debut album My Collar is Blue, recorded at The Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge, followed in October, and the seven-song sampler platter of punk helped earn Already Dead a nomination for Punk Artist of the Year at the 2022 Boston Music Awards.
Unable to rest or sit still for very long, new music quickly followed in 2023: A genre-bending collaboration with BOS The Rapper titled “Don’t Wake Me”; a punk rendition of the “Bread & Roses” protest song for Labor Day, complete with a live performance at the Bread & Roses festival in Lawrence; and acoustic rager “Landlord”, an impassioned rally to highlight our society’s collective financial instability. New album Something Like A War arrives with a fury in Summer 2024, led by first single “The Spirit of Massachusetts” in May.
Cummings has also been a vocal presence on the front lines of labor movements, performing his music in solidarity for the working class and speaking openly about the rights of blue-collar citizens to the media and on radio. With growing support in their backyard and beyond, Already Dead has been featured on WBUR, Boston’s NPR Station and GBH’s The Culture Show, as well as Dying Scene, New Noise Magazine, If It’s Too Loud, Rock & Roll Fables, Worcester Magazine, The Struggling Artist Podcast, That’s Good Enough For Me, Hump Day News, and elsewhere across the digital media landscape.
Call it punk, call it whatever you want. It’s Already Dead.
Media praise for Already Dead:
“What strikes me is the emotion behind the song [‘The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue’] — you are calling this out and you are forcefully calling this out.” _Jared Bowen on GBH ‘The Culture Show’
“Already Dead's 'Landlord' is a protest song for the modern labor movement.” _WBUR, Boston’s NPR
“‘Landlord’ furthers Already Dead’s growing legacy as New England’s independent punk rock voice for the working class.” _Jammerzine
“[‘Don’t Wake Me’] showcases hip-hop smarts, punk snarl, and dynamic synths and riffs blending together and creating a dynamic aural experience.” _New Noise Magazine
“It’s a ferocious, Pogues-style take on the song [‘Bread & Roses’], and its sentiment certainly resonates.” _Worcester Magazine
“Like fellow (Boston) bands Dropkick Murphys and Rancid, lead vocals are alternated and in [‘The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue’] almost by the line….Again the band takes on a social topic, showing where its heart and mind is. There's anger in this song alright. One thing is certain, the anger does not stop the band from writing a great melody, making sure that all in the audience and pub can sing along to ‘your fucking problem’.” _WoNoBlog
“Brilliant.” _The Whole Kameese
“Talking about getting alive. This new manic missile [‘The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue’] speeds up across the Massachusetts roadway with all engines on. Feet on the gas pedal, going everywhere fast, motorized by Blink-182 echoing guitars, fearless drums, intertwining shouts-and-screams and a flaming chorus. This is a great moment to get your hot rod out of the garage, pretend you’re an easy rider, pull-up like a Formula 1 bolide and raise your middle to all the bad guys along your trip. Fasten your seatbelt, the race starts here.” _Turn Up The Volume
“Three- or four-chord progressions and chainsaw stompboxes rule the day on the bouncy, uptempo punk thriller. The trio romps n’ rolls their truth like a well-oiled machine. No fussy solos or curlicues to the sound – all killer, no filler.” _Hump Day News
“We’re fired up to bring you Already Dead doing their take on an old classic. The song is called ‘Bread And Roses’, and in its original format, it’s a 100+ year old hymn and poem dedicated to the women and children striking for better working conditions in the old mill city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Eugene Debs himself referred to the ‘Bread & Roses Strike’ as ‘the most decisive and far-reaching ever won by organized labor’ at the time. This version is Already Dead’s punked up version, which is especially fitting given the band’s roots in Massachusetts’ blue collar trade unions.” _Dying Scene
“Boston’s Already Dead is the best kind of aural enigma. They’re along the lines of Against Me! or Dropkick Murphys with their anthem crafting ability and then you throw in a little bit of the more melodic NYHC of the ’90s à la Life Of Agony’s classic ‘River Runs Red’ plus some Bad Religion, some hip-hop, some ska, and some country twang and you have a local outfit that absolutely sounds like NO ONE in the scene today.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“No wall-of-Already-Dead-dynamite electricity this time. Dan Cummings picked up his acoustic guitar and wrote this bone-chilling cry out about living on the edge of drowning or surviving. Imagine British leftist/political activist and terrific veteran songsmith Billy Bragg raising his voice or equally politically driven folk legend Woody Guthrie killing fascists again with his wooden guitar. Landlord‘s profound emotions go from hope to despair and back, and Cummings‘ anxious vocals send shivers down your spine. All-out top performance.” _Turn Up The Volume
"If you are feeling nostalgic for VFW Hall shows and punk rock of the late 1990's then you are going to love this. It's totally in the vein of Big Wig, Rise Against, Bouncing Souls, although a little more polished even though the recording maintains all of the aesthetics of the analog age. Another BMN editor thought maybe a heavier Frank Turner or a good mix of Off With Their Heads and Hot Water Music. Big fun group vocals make this something you'd want to check out live!” _Blood Makes Noise
“Boston has a great history of blue collar punk, and the latest is Already Dead. The band has a new single out called ‘My Collar is Blue.’ This new song might go a little more pop punk than what you may typically consider working class Boston punk, but there is still a lot more edge here than you would typically find in a pop punk song. I suppose this would be the definition of melodic punk. Already Dead inject just the tiniest bit of a Celtic sound on this new one, and maybe just the slightest hint of a country twang. There is still some killer gang vocals and choruses on ‘My Collar is Blue’, so even punk purists won't be able to avoid singing along.” _If It’s Too Loud
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