Matt Riddle (Face To Face and No Use For A Name), Chris Swinney (The Ataris), Pedro Aida (Ann Beretta), and Matt Morris. Mixed/Mastered at The Blasting Room…

Features hand-painted art by Mark deSalvo, known for classic album covers (NOFX, Lagwagon, Pulley). ‘A Fool’s Errand’ starts with a dynamic bass line that pushes the melody all over the fretboard. With plenty of “woahs” to go around, fans singing along in front will be squished against the stage by the inevitable circle pit. Matt Riddle says of ‘A Fool’s Errand’: “I wrote the music to this song while I was extremely ill about 10-12 years ago. The bassline came about by testing myself, to see if I could still play at all. It has a weird picking style, kind of a banjo-ish thing. Thumb and first two fingers. It’s a pretty simple chord progression, but when I showed the guys, they seemed to really like it. Pedro wrote this killer vocal melody with rad harmonies, Chris tracked the guitars and Matt laid down these insane drums and I was like, wow!” B-side ‘We Dance For Sorrow’ is a mid-tempo roam that has a “hey! hey! hey!” chorus so catchy, you’ll be singing to yourself all over town. Of the track, Chris Swinney says: “‘We Dance For Sorrow’ started off as just the verse. I have had that riff knocking around for years, but could never turn it into a song. One night last year, I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to the studio. I wrote the chorus progression and the chromatic bridge riff. When the other guys wrote their parts, it really took shape. We have written and recorded a lot of songs over the last couple of years, but this is one of my favorites. It has a cool melancholy vibe to it, perfect for the fall.” The Fire Sale single marks the third release for the recently relaunched indie label Negative Progression Records. Over the course of 18 years, NPR became known for discovering, developing, and supporting young bands, taking them out of the garage, and helping them hit the road. The label (which went on to sell over 100,000 records, host a stage on the 2003 Vans Warped Tour, and release 30 titles) became a trusted curator in the underground punk scene, bringing to the world a number of albums now regarded as classics. Now, after an 8-year gap where label founder Seth Hyman focused exclusively on his career as an attorney, NPR is back not to relive the past, but to stay true to its original mission and find your next favorite band.

Photo: Noelle Burton