Cheap Tissue Share Singles & Announce Debut LP

 ​Cheap Tissue – photo by M. Haight.

“Breakneck punk harking back to the very core of what the genre stands for.” – The 405

“They fit perfectly into the lineage of classic punk bands, a few of which (The Vibrators, The Zeros) they’ve opened for.” – mxdwn

“CBGB style punk in its purest form.” – Punknews

“Adrenaline-fueled, unapologetic…a raw surge of blistering, contagious energy.” – What Youth

Los Angeles punks Cheap Tissue are gearing up to release their debut self-titled LP, due March 2 via Lolipop Records (Oh Sees, The Drums, Peach Kelli Pop). In advance of the release, Cheap Tissue shared singles at The 405, mxdwn, New Noise and more with The 405 praising the group’s “Breakneck punk harking back to the very core of what the genre stands for,” and with mxdwn claiming that, “They fit perfectly into the lineage of classic punk bands, a few of which (The Vibrators, The Zeros) they’ve opened for.”

Like a howl from the gutter at bogus posturing and chic bandwagoning, LA’s Cheap Tissue plays hard, fast, and doesn’t give a good fuck about fashion. Drenched in amphetamine sweats and blown amps, the quartet’s self-titled debut is 12 tracks of unapologetic, blitzkrieg rock. Produced and engineered by Lolipop Records impresario Ignacio Gonzalez, the sound is a melting pot of the raw, DIY punk that shaped the bandmates’ youth, who grew up seeing confrontational acts like Sham 69 and Circle Jerks in questionable, druggy SoCal venues. Never ones for agit-punk, Cheap Tissue is more interested in the party than grim-faced rumination on politics and anarchy. It’s that commitment to fun, and honor for a lifestyle that was never a passing, teenage trend, that unites the members of Cheap Tissue.

Cheap Tissue was spawned from late night jam sessions between guitarist/vocalist Andrew Taylor and Jesse Youngblood (guitar/vox). The sonic DNA uniting the two was a shared love for the Damned, Dead Boys and late 70s, 80s punk that was at once gritty and inviting. Kicking out songs at a lightening pace, Taylor and Youngblood recruited punk lifers John Tyree (Bass) and Matt Spizer (Drums) soon after, and the band hasn’t slowed down since. Announcing their full-throttle intentions right off the bat, the band’s first shows were opening for punk vets the Vibrators and the Zeros. Winning over the tight-knit crowds, whose bullshit radars are sharply honed to detect any phoniness, is no easy task, unless you live, bleed, and die rock and roll. Cheap Tissue passed the test on the first night.

Early, raw demos caught the attention of Lolipop Records, Echo Park’s de-facto home for honest garage/punk/power pop releases. Recorded in one blisteringly hot session, fueled by nicotine and cheap beer, the band laid down the tracks for their eponymous debut. The songs speak to the disaffected, marginalized, but never to be discounted rock crowd that refuses to be swayed by fads or trends. Taylor and Youngblood’s incisive, semi-autobiographical songs offer scathing social commentary on drugs, scenesters, and fickle “rock” fans.

While the band celebrates late nights and last calls, the downside to excessive partying is captured in fragmented oblivion. “Up My Sleeve” details a crippling heroin addiction that nearly ended Taylor’s life, and his fight to save it: “I always seem to melt down and push in the pin / Ha, call me back tomorrow ‘cause I’ve fallen back again / Don’t you worry no don’t you worry / I’ll be back on the upswing in quite a hurry.” While the bandmates have all danced around the volcano, the album is a dedication to salvation that lives amongst good friends and reckless nights, and possibly in rock itself.

Anyone willing to lose themselves, and pledge allegiance to nothing, is more than welcome to come along.