Hayley and the Crushers Release 'Unsubscribe from the Underground' EP

Photo Courtesy of Hayley and the Crushers – Photo Credit: Pete Perry

“We look at genres a little in the same way as we look at hot sauces. Our fridge is full of them, and they’re all seeing some action,” says spicy frontwoman/guitarist Hayley Cain of melodic punk band Hayley and the Crushers about the variety of songs on the band’s new ‘Unsubscribe from the Underground’ EP out today via Kitten Robot Records. Traipsing through musical styles, the band churns out tracks of increasing heat, a la the formidable buffalo wings of Buzzfeed’s Hot Ones. In other words: the Crushers aren’t scared to dabble–or crank up the heat–when necessary. “The genres don’t walk a straight line. We blend in a little country vibe there. It’s certainly punk rock, done our way. We are known to sprinkle in a bit of surf sound. Sprinkle in some ‘80s pop. We like to play. We like to feel like we can go wild and have fun. We did this on the new EP.”

Take for instance the rowdy-yet-thoughtful take on the Millennial freedom of choice “Let Go” (video also out today) which Hayley says was written from a place of burnout and technology saturation: “Overwhelm with the constant ping of email, text, social media, apps. One can never truly hear their own thoughts, conversations don’t officially ‘end,’ they just live online, lingering forever until someone dies (and even then, where do our text chains go?).” From her perspective as a “vintage Millennial” (the last generation to remember an analog childhood before and after the internet), she says that these days, “we observe others’ lives, consume an endless, disposable ocean of content and are haunted by comparing our own bloopers to everyone else’s supposed highlight reels. Our smartphone use is a lot like cigarette smoking in old 1950s movies,” she adds, “Creepily omnipresent! One day we’ll look back in shock.”

She says as much as she values the power to connect Crushers fans worldwide, it’s still important to “touch some grass, as the kids say.” Adding, “In the ‘Let Go’ music video, I am running through the overgrown alleyways of my Detroit neighborhood. Our friend Alex is riding my e-bike and [bassist] Dr. Cain ESQ filming off the back. Running is a powerful visual, but usually the way I disconnect IRL looks like going for a walk, picking up a graphic novel, hopping on a bike, doing some yoga in the park. I hope the listener feels seen and heard. Sometimes we forget that we can actually let go.”

The band’s Unsubscribe from the Underground EP features five songs, including “Let Go,” and though they all sound like the Crushers, they each have their own individual spice level: there’s a zippy and vigorous track (“Unsubscribe”), a deceptively nostalgic pop punk anthem (“Alleyways”); a pedal steel-tinged ’60s girl group-inspired ballad (“Blood and Treasure”); and capping off the EP is a gleefully unhewn cover of Juice Newton’s 1981 country hit “Queen of Hearts.” Trading in the metaphor of a spice rack to a sweeter level since not everyone indulges in hot sauces, Hayley opts instead to target the sweet tooth, saying it’s best to think of Unsubscribe from the Underground as a “melodic Easter basket of pop-forward / punk adjacent goodies, except a few of the eggs are actually hand grenades.”

Unsubscribe from the Underground tracklist
1. Unsubscribe
2. Alleyways
3. Blood and Treasure
4. Let Go
5. Queen of Hearts

Unsubscribe from the Underground follows the band’s 2022 album, Modern Adult Kicks and it was written and produced in transition from California to Detroit (vocals recorded at Josie Cotton’s Los Angeles Kitten Robot studio and instruments tracked in lead guitarist Ryan Deliso’s basement in Detroit). The album was produced by Paul Roessler and features bass by Dr. Cain, drums by Gabe Masek, guitars by Ryan Deliso, and backing vocals by John Miller. Unsubscribe from the Underground is available digitally today (September 10, 2024) via Kitten Robot Records.