Seminal Chicago Punk band Smoking Popes will be returning with a new full-length studio album called Lovely Stuff, their first since 2018’s Into The Agony. The album will be released in March 2025 by the Anxious & Angry label, and available on 12” LP vinyl, digital download and streaming platforms.
This new self-produced album was recorded at Bombsight Studio, Bloomington IL and Million Yen Studio, Chicago IL with David Rossi and Andy Gerber engineering.
Lead singer and songwriter Josh Caterer says:
It took us about two years to make this record. We went into the studio with just two songs in the summer of 2022, then I kept writing and we’d go back every few months and record another couple songs. It was a long process because we were doing it all piecemeal, but I think the final product has a cohesive energy. The songs all feel connected.Two tracks from the album, “Madison” and “Golden Moment,” have already been released as singles and two more are on the way, “Racine” in February and “Fox River Dream” just before the album drops in March.
The title Lovely Stuff was inspired by the band’s recent tour of the UK.
Caterer explains:
We played a small club in Northwich called the Salty Dog, and at one point the audience started chanting, ‘Lovely stuff! Lovely stuff!’ It was really a beautiful moment and so ridiculously British. I mean, where else in the world would an audience chant that?
The title also signals a departure from the band’s negative album titles, such as Born to Quit, Destination Failure, and Into the Agony.
He continues:
Calling this album Lovely Stuff felt right because it says something about where our heads are at right now. I wouldn’t exactly say we’re optimistic, but we’re at least determined to keep moving forward, to keep finding what is lovely in an unlovely world.
Smoking Popes began in 1991 in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and since then, they have grown into a classic band, touring with such bands as Descendents, Dinosaur Jr, Jawbreaker and Jimmy Eat World.
The band will be touring February through May to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Born To Quit, performing that album in its entirety at all the shows, along with songs from Lovely Stuff and others from their catalogue.
