HEY! There’s a new Dollar Signs rercord coming out in just a couple weeks. It’s called Legend Tripping, and since the press release was written waaaay better than I could do, here’s the skinny!
Known for their self-mocking sincerity, the Charlotte punks use the record as a means of getting back to their roots in every sense – earlier this summer, they crowdfunded over $25,000 to be able to release this album entirely independent. That support fueled a fire, and the result is a bombastic and heartfelt unpacking of what it means to go back home.
Amidst a bout of pandemic-fueled writer’s block, Erik challenged himself to examine the “hometown” rock album cliche in a different light. Instead of just talking about growing up in the South, he’d write about the nuances of revisiting it once you’ve grown beyond it––what it was, what it is now, and how time creates a bigger distance than any amount of mileage could.
Because Button loves horror films, Legend Tripping also frames “home” as a place that’s haunted, and examines change through the lens of mystery. And despite this nostalgia, his caustic wit still manages to lob neon green paint at every elephant in the room.
Erik says, “It was really important for me to think carefully about the subject matter. I didn’t want to approach this topic with rose-colored glasses, but also the south gets shit on constantly and I did want to reflect that good people do live here, good things happen here. It’s beautiful here and people live freely and joyfully here in spite of the systems of horror baked into our infrastructure.”
Here’s the video for the album’s first single, “Bless Your Heart”!
And now you can listen to the album’s titular track (heh – I said titular) “Legend Tripping.”
Don’t forget to pre-order the album in all the usual formats before its 10/27/23 release on Charlotte’s own Self Aware Records.