“One part pop, one part poison, all ‘poolside glitter punk’” band Hayley and the Crushers released their energy-filled single “Taboo” on August 23 in anticipation of their third album, Modern Adult Kicks, out today (!) via Kitten Robot Records.
The group from California is now based in Detroit, and their favorite thrift store named Flamingo Vintage was the perfect location to shoot the “Taboo” music video. Among the clothes, we see the band giving off old school punk rock vibes that we know and love, bringing the punk to life with strong vocals and guitar by Hayley Crusher Cain and bass played by her husband, Dr. Cain ESQ, with Action Ben Cabreana on drums.
“Somebody has to go / I was built for speed / remember when we danced solo / now all we do is breathe”, she sings, reflecting on the past.
The chorus repeats: “Ooo it’s creeping over you / It’s taboo / Ooo it’s creeping over you / and over me too”, expressing how the “taboo” lingers even when it is not wanted. When she looks through a red photo viewfinder (a toy that you might have picked up as a child), she sees another version of herself eerily dancing in the flashing light wearing an intricate makeup look.
At the end of the video, all we are left with is the viewfinder on a wooden chair to think about what we just witnessed.
“The band’s third album conjures up the elation of first-car freedom, the melancholy of suburban isolation and the fluorescent euphoria of Y2K chat rooms,” and Modern Adult Kicks is out now!
“We went through the Covid-19 pandemic with the album, we signed to Kitten Robot Records in the middle of it, and we started working both remotely and in-person with [producer] Paul Roessler of the Screamers, the closest thing to LA punk royalty we could imagine,” Hayley said. “The album was something real to hold onto during a time of turbulence.”
Find this and more exciting new music on our Alchemical Multigenre Mixdown playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Emma Page, a recent Journalism graduate of The George Washington University, possesses a passion for music journalism and storytelling in all its forms. Originally from Baltimore, MD, when she is not writing, she can be found at a local concert or making music of her own.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
