Canadian pop-punk veterans The Riptides have announced their new album Burn After Listening, due out March 7th on Pirates Press Records. Coinciding with the announcement, the band also premiered the music video for the lead single “End of the World” and launched pre-orders for the record today. Check out the music video below 👇 and head over to the Pirates Press store to grab the record on two bad ass color variants – Tide Pod Marble and Aqua Blue – limited to 250 copies each.
2017’s Canadian Graffiti is a hard act to follow but it’s safe to say the Riptides are up to the task! Recorded at the legendary Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO, Burn After Listening features Kody Templeman on guitar and his Teenage Bottlerocket bandmate Darren Chewka on drums, as well as a host of guest appearances from the likes of Mike Kennerty (Screeching Weasel, All-American Rejects), Heavy Kevy from The Apers, Merel Schaap of Dutch pop-punk band Lone Wolf (check out their awesome 2023 album Haze Wave!), and the inimitable Joe Queer.
Dying Scene’s top investigative journalists camped outside Riptides frontman Bob Goblin’s residence in Ottawa, Ontario this morning and asked the hard hitting questions you, loyal reader, deserve answers to:
Hey Bob! Can you tell us about the recording process for your new album?
The recording process was a mix of excitement and challenges. Exciting because we got to record at the legendary Blasting Room in Fort Collins- I’ve always been a fan of the level of quality recordings coming out of there, so the chance to work with Andrew Berlin and Jason Livermore was amazing. Then it was challenging because we really wanted to push ourselves as far as we could on this record. We hadn’t recorded in quite sometime and we try and make every record worth it- for us, as well as for people who might check out the record. When we go away and record records like this, we’re leaving our families, our jobs, our homes, our pets (you can’t forget the pets!) etc. and this one was right before Christmas, so we probably put extra pressure on ourselves to get it right.
How did Kody and Chewka from Teenage Bottlerocket end up playing on the record?
Unfortunately, a couple of guys couldn’t take the time off work or away from their families at the time we were scheduled to go out there. The Blasting Room’s schedule fills up fast and they just so happened to have an opening before Christmas Last year so we jumped on it. It was rad because Less Than Jake were there at the same time finishing up their record so we got to catch up with them. We’ve kept in touch with Kody & Chewka over the years and they offered to help us out which is so incredibly rad and kind of them. Like everyone, we love those guys, as people but obviously as well as what they bring to records so when they offered, it was a no-brainer. Working with those dudes was a dream come true and what they both brought to the record I think added a fresh dynamic to the songs while still fitting with our sound. I think people will dig it.
What was it like collaborating with guest artists like Mike Kennerty (All American Rejects, Screeching Weasel, etc.) and Joe Queer on this record?
It was so great. Each guest brought their own unique touch, and it really elevated the tracks in ways we hadn’t imagined. Instead of just having gratuitous guest spots though, we wanted the collaborations to be with our close friends and people we’re huge fans of and they all said ‘yes’! I got to write a few songs on this record with Mattias from DeeCracks/Jagger Holly who I’m a big fan of and the songs came out pretty cool I think. I always find it so much fun to work with other songwriters who might approach songwriting differently than myself. It challenges me to try and be a better writer and the results are always kinda new and exciting to my ears. Merel (Lone Wolf), Heavy Kevy (Insanity Alert, Sweatpants Party), Joe Queer and Mike Kennerty all brought fresh takes on their parts and absolutely killed it for us and we couldn’t be happier. I hope people will listen to the record in its entirety and hear how much fun we had making it 🙂
Thanks Bob, you’re free to go!
