Answerman illuminate our daily tension with ‘Black Light Poster’
Boston psychedelic garage rock band unleashes debut album on April 21
LISTEN: Gritty new single ‘No Complaints’ is now streaming
BOSTON, Mass. [April 21, 2023] -- Those who gaze into the abyss often soon realize the abyss is quick to gaze right back. Those who stare into a black light poster often experience something just as intense – the fluorescent colors seduce, the velvet textures hypnotize, and the infinite depth of the backdrop creates a magnetic portal for the mind’s eye. So it’s all too fitting that Answerman has named their long-awaited debut album Black Light Poster, as the Boston psychedelic garage rock band reflects our uneasy world, illuminates our daily tensions, and takes us on a trip that fully kicks in on Friday, April 21.
Answerman delivered a dose of what was to come last month, unleashing their garage rock from hell through fiery lead single “Black Heart,” which earned widespread blog and radio praise and a few spins on The Rodney Bingenheimer Show on SiriusXM’s Underground Garage. A new single, the gritty “No Complaints,” hits the streams on Friday, March 31, the final aural appetizer for the band’s long-anticipated full-length, which gets the record release party treatment April 22 at Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, with special guests The Love Shamans and The Grubs.
Across Black Light Poster’s eight seismic and engaging tracks, a range of vibes come together in kaleidoscopic display across a spectrum of garage rock, psych, post-punk and surf-pop. There’s a darkness to the light, and a lightness to the dark, all wound tightly around a pop-song core by the blood, sweat, and beers of the assembled cast: Guitarist and vocalist Sam Pitino; guitarist Tom Murphy; bassist Walt Enright; and drummer Chris Orcutt. Black Light Poster, recorded live and mixed and mastered by Will Holland at Chillhouse Studios in Charlestown, can be defined as a sort of tapestry of challenges that life springs onto you when you're most vulnerable – but also the importance of holding it together to make it to the other side.
“Thematically, the album touches on such a wide range of human conditions: Love, loss, lust, depression, anxiety, disappointment, forgiveness,” says Pitino. “And we all experience these things everyday, in real life situations: Our romantic relationships, our friendships, our workplaces, our politics. It's a whole world. And when you take a step back and start to put things into perspective, you see that there's so much gray area and nothing is black and white. But the gray area is the part that's interesting – that's where you can immerse yourself and create stories that hopefully resonate.”
The stories unveiled so far are just the tip of Answerman’s creative iceberg. Barnstorming album opener “Black Heart” embodies the frantic passion of living with depression and anxiety, and feeling like there’s no way out. Follow-up single “No Complaints” growls out of the speakers with a detached alt-rock cool, and takes us into the workplace where cries for help go unheard.
Across the album, Answerman’s world unfolds, the light and the dark dancing freely over its eight tracks. The loose “Smoof” riffs on playful lyrical inspiration from The Clash and guitar-pop of Jesus And Mary Chain. “Prophet,” with Rumblefield’s Ed Arnold on keyboards, acts as an air siren for the rise of authoritarianism and our heavy political climate, with Arnold providing an extra layer of darkness and tension to the wall of sound. Midway through the LP, “Jenny” lightens the mood, surfing up a propulsive ‘60s rock vibe around a classic tale of boy-meets-girl.
“Production-wise, we wanted to go outside of ourselves and explore different sounds on some of the tracks, really looking to take them to the next level,” says Pitino. “There's a lot of reverb and space used throughout the album and we wanted all the songs to fit together sonically in that way.”
As Black Light Poster barrels towards its conclusion, a trio of songs showcase Answerman’s ongoing relationships – the highs, the lows, the unsteady line in between – with those around them. “The Trick”, featuring Karan Sarkasian on pedal steel, is an alt-country-leaning, broken-hearted love song about coming to grips with a toxic lover, with Sarkasian’s contribution adding to the Nashville honky-tonk vibe of the track. “Trampled,” featuring engineer Holland on keys, belies its upbeat surf-rock mood through a theme of maintaining friendships when you’re emotionally drained and you have nothing to give. And album closer “Background” confirms prior sentiments with a snake-dance of a surfy post-punk garage rock number about the death of a relationship, specifically the point where it’s impossible to turn back. The stories are all real life experiences, lived out and played out by the dudes on stage.
“There’s a range of vibes on the album,” Pitino confirms. “It's like riding a clanky box car into a dark fun-house. There are things that make you jump in your seat. Others make you squirm a little. There's distorted things you can't quite make out, things that make you LOL. And a sudden touch on the shoulder from an invisible hand. Each time you go through, the ride is slightly different, but it's always a good time – and you're glad you went.”
For Answerman, as a band, they haven’t exactly come out the way they first went in. After forming more than a decade ago, the quartet released three EPs between 2012 and 2016, earning a keep around the greater Boston area with nearly 60 live performances during that time, becoming familiar faces at known venues like The Middle East, T.T. The Bear’s Place, O’Brien’s Pub, and a bunch of places no longer with us. After a few years on hiatus, Black Light Poster finds Answerman in the game, a fire glowing from both likely and unlikely places, but with a more ambitious plan and cohesive message than before.
The final release before the album drop, “No Complaints,” in particular, draws from Pitino’s own experiences in corporate advertising, though the themes of being drained from work and constantly trying to survive while the work piles up is a universal feeling in 2023. We’re smiling when we stare at what’s in front of us, but what stares back may see a different mood entirely.
“It's an anthem – an homage to everyone ‘sticking it out’ in toxic work situations,” Pitino says. “This was the very last song to be written for the album. Written around the time I was leaving the corporate advertising world for good – during the pandemic. In advertising, you’re expected to stay late, work weekends and holidays and as long as the agency doesn't hear of your struggles, everything's fine. But it’s unsustainable and people find themselves depressed, anxious, overworked and ultimately unfulfilled. This song is for them!”
And so is the album, a debut effort a decade in the making. It captures the Answerman ethos and immortalizes it, taking eight tracks all four members are equally proud of and presenting them as an album’s album in the age of the single, illuminated brightly and propelled forward by the internal energy contained within. As they stared deep into the album, the album was quick to gaze back, a true reflection of the band in 2023.
“Having our debut album be something we're super proud of means everything to us,” Pitino concludes. “It's been a very long road for us – we waited for the right songs and the right moment. We made an early and conscious decision to only release what we thought was truly our very best. If we weren't excited to hear it on this album, how could we expect others to be?”
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Answerman is:
Sam Pitino: Guitar and vocals
Tom Murphy: Guitar
Walt Enright: Bass
Chris Orcutt: Drums
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‘Black Light Poster’ production credits:
Written by Answerman
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Will Holland of Chillhouse Studios in Charlestown, MA
Ed Arnold: Keyboards on “Prophet”
Karan Sarkasian: Pedal steel on “The Trick”
Will Holland: Keyboards on “Trampled”
Answerman short bio:
Answerman are a Boston-based garage rock band from hell. Led by Sam Pitino, the quartet’s gritty band of psych-dosed rock and roll has returned after a brief hiatus, reclaiming a place in the New England music scene with blistering debut album Black Light Poster. Set for release on April 21, 2023, the LP is led by singles “Black Heart” (which earned widespread New England blog praise and radio play, as well as a spin on The Rodney Bingenheimer Show on SiriusXM’s Underground Garage) and “No Complaints.” The record release party goes down at Faces Brewing Co. in Malden on April 22.
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Media praise for Answerman:
“Exploding from a burgeoning buzz, all of the ‘Black Heart’ bravado blissfully melts away to form this concise modern Psych Rawk classic that’s kind of a throwback but also kinda not and all around kinda timeless. It’s like The Hollies and Caesars collided and formed the most wonderfully rad supergroup, set up camp in Boston, had a powwow with Jonathan Richman, and then produced the gnarly noise you have awaiting to invade yer earholes.” – Rock N Roll Fables
“‘Black Heart’ comes at you at warped speed, like a loose asteroid hurtling through space. A delicately crafted sonic composition that is the embodiment of an authentic rock anthem. The song has a pulse that frolics within the spectrum of post-punk, psych and surf-pop. ‘Black Heart’ is the perfect ‘jumper cable’ to reignite the true spirit of rock.” – The Whole Kameese
“Answerman are pure garage rock, but they leave the typical Boston garage rock sound behind while still sounding like a Boston garage rock band. ‘Black Heart’ just has this swagger to it. The song is doused with psychedelia without any shred of hippiedom attached to it. It’s not quite punk, but that’s only because it’s surprisingly groovy. The song is like this unique mixture of The Hives, The Stooges, and Jello Biafra. As dark as the song gets, it stays a really fun rock and roll song.” – If It’s Too Loud
“[‘Black Heart’] has a gritty, dynamic texture that slowly builds up to the crescendo, and then quietly explodes in a stream of consciousness that all makes sense when you listen to it as a whole. …I was truly impressed with what I’ve heard, and am looking forward to what musical gifts they’ll bring to the table in the future.” – Music Box Pete
“No whistles and bells for these four sharp-edged hombres out of Boston. After a short, jangly intro it’s all riff-rotating cylinders and all garage rock burners on. Psychobilly hooks and surf licks swirl side by side with manic magnetism. ‘Black Heart’ is a roaring steamroller with a buzzing bluster, an electric-energetic flow, and snappy vocals. As the cliché goes, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll but they and I like it any day of the week. So should you.” – Turn Up The Volume
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The music of Answerman can be heard on:
Alternative Frequencies on Leyland Radio UK, Banks Radio Australia, Boston Groupie News, BumbleBee Radio, Christian’s Cosmic Corner on Mark Skin Radio, Enigma Online, Everything You Know Is Wrong on WMWM Salem State, Flyfew Radio Germany, Fuzzed Out on WZBC, Garagerocktopia on KUCR, Good Music Radio UK, If It’s Too Loud, Laura Beth’s Mixtape Show on Reclaimed Radio, Marc’s Alt-Rock Playground on Mark Skin Radio, Moosic Entertainment, Music Box Pete, Oh Hello Boston, Original Music Showcase on Mark Skin Radio, Rising with Skybar on WMFO, Rock N Roll Fables, The Bad Copy, The Retweeter’s Show on ZenoFM, The Rodney Bingenheimer Show on SiriusXM’s Underground Garage, The Whole Kameese, Turn Up The Volume, and other fine outlets, shows, stations, and platforms.
