Militarie Gun is blending the barrier between hardcore punk and the mainstream.
The Los Angeles band helmed by vocalist Ian Shelton will release its new EP Life Under The Sun on Friday, Jan. 26. In some ways, the record is a continuation of the group's full-length studio debut Life Under The Gun. In others it's a complete departure.
Although four of the five tracks are covers from the band's studio debut, they all sound completely different.
Four out of the five tracks on the EP are reimaginings of songs from the first album, but casual listeners might not realize this unless they're paying close attention. The originals are gruff but poppy alternative rock tracks with obvious roots in hardcore while the covers vacillate between dense psychedelic soundscapes and austere acoustic passages.
Shelton told Q his goal for the new EP was to align the band's sound with its lyrical content.
"The usual Militarie Gun thing is counterbalancing something sad with something energetic and poppy," the frontman said. "The intention of the whole project was to lean into the sadness of the lyrics and not counterbalance it."
The upcoming release includes features from members of Bully and Manchester Orchestra. There's also a cover of the iconic NOFX track "Whoops I OD'D."
But none of those musicians had a bigger influence on the project than Mannequin Pussy's frontwoman Marisa "Missy" Dabice, who became Shelton's trusty sidekick during the recording process. She was originally only supposed to appear on one track, but ended up becoming an integral part of the entire release.
The first track Shelton and Dabice recorded with producer Shooter Jennings was "Never F**ked Up Twice."
"It started out as a very faithful translation of the original and was slowly being replaced by this chugging part," the frontman said. "It was really exciting to watch it change in real time."
That's when Shelton experienced a "revelation" regarding his vocals.
"I don't need to yell," he said. "In fact, I'll do the opposite."
The frontman said the new approach on Life Under The Sun doesn't represent a permanent shift for the band, but added that he hopes to experiment more on future releases.
It makes sense that Life Under The Gun rocketed Militarie Gun into the spotlight when it was released last June. Many of the tracks are bona fide earworms that only get better with each listen. The bones of the compositions are so sturdy that they can seamlessly be shifted into other genres.
The album caught the attention of Post Malone, who invited Shelton to party with him after a show last year. A video of the pop star and Shelton singing along to "Do It Faster" made the rounds in online music circles. It was also featured in a Militarie Gun gun commercial that's been circulating on sites like YouTube.
Post Malone is scheduled to perform before the Super Bowl next month. Militarie Gun also has connections to the NFL. "Do It Faster" was featured in a Taco Bell commercial that aired repeatedly during the league's games on Christmas Day.
Shelton pointed out that other punk and alternative bands like Scowl, White Reaper and Turnstile have also been featured in the fast food chain's commercials.
"They're the only brand that takes artists that people don't know," he said of Taco Bell's advertising team. "They're taking chances, they're trying new things. They're just going off their tastes."
But Militarie Gun catching Taco Bell's attention wasn't an aberration.
In January 2022, the band signed with Jay-Z's iconic talent agency RocNation, which has been in charge of the NFL's Super Bowl halftime shows since 2019.
Shelton said Militarie Gun was picked up after former Coheed and Cambria manager Blaze James was hired by the company to find more rock bands. The roster now also includes artists like Spiritbox, We Came as Romans and After the Burial.
Just two months after joining Roc Nation, Militarie Gun was signed to Loma Vista Recordings. The independent label was founded by Tom Whalley, who was previously an executive at Warner Bros. Records and Interscope, an imprint of Universal Music Group. The company later became part of Concord, which renewed its distribution agreement with Universal in 2020.
Militarie Gun's seemingly overnight ascent stands in stark contrast to Shelton's background in heavier hardcore bands.
He grew up in the Seattle suburbs where he cut his teeth with a group called Regional Justice Center. Shelton wrote lyrics about how prisoners and their loved ones are financially taken advantage of by the criminal justice system. The tracks were partly inspired by his own experiences with an incarcerated family member.
Regional Justice Center has plans to release a new album, but in the run-up to the pandemic the project was winding down. This was around the time that Shelton moved to Los Angeles to pursue a directing career.
But the shutdown put everything on hold. With nothing to do, the frontman decided to start working on the project that would eventually become Militarie Gun. Instead of spending his unexpected downtime lounging about, Shelton traveled to a studio every day to work on new demos.
At the time, he was particularly inspired by the New York hardcore band Born Against and its vocalist Sam McPheeters. Shelton also mentioned wanting to make a track that sounded like Third Eye Blind.
The group has brought a similar work ethic with them on the road. They've crafted a particularly tight schedule for their headlining North American tour set to begin later this month. Militarie Gun will receive support from Pool Kids, Spiritual Cramp, Death Lens, Spaced and Roman Candle on select dates.
The band will also play the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona this spring and Bonnaroo in June.
The band will begin its headlining North American tour on Jan. 31.
Check out a full list of the upcoming tour dates below:
1/31 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge*
2/02 - Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves*
2/03 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk*
2/04 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues Bronze Peacock*
2/06 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East*
2/07 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Purgatory)* #
2/08 - Tampa, FL @ The Crowbar*
2/09 - Miami, FL @ Gramps*
2/10 - Tallahassee, FL @ 926 Bar*
2/12 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings^ #
2/13 - Washington, DC @ The Atlantis^
2/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church^
2/15 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom^
2/16 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair^
2/17 - Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques^
2/18 - Ottawa, ON @ The Brass Monkey^
2/20 -Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground^
2/21 - New Kensington, PA @ Preserving Underground^
2/22 - Detroit, MI @ Edgemen Printing^
2/23 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge^
2/24 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry^
2/25 - Kansas City, MO @ recordBar^
2/26 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre+
2/28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court+
2/29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Eagle Aerie Hall+
3/02 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Atrium at The Catalyst+
3/03 - San Francisco, CA @ Noise Pop @ Rickshaw Stop+
3/05 - Sacramento, CA @ The Starlet Room+
3/07 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall+
3/08 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre+
3/09 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos+
# = no Pool Kids
* = w/ Death Lens
^ = w/ Spaced
+ = w/ Roman Candle
