The NYC-via-Rochester band Taking Meds has been around for a decade, honing a gruff but wistful take on the place on the Venn diagram where emo overlaps with pop-punk. The band released their most recent album Terrible News From Wonderful Men in 2021. Right now, the band is gearing up for a tour, where they’ll share stages with peers like Ridgeway and Somerset Thrower. In advance of that tour, they’ve just dropped a new single.

Taking Meds recorded “Memory Lane” with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, who also co-produced Terrible News From Wonderful Men. It a warm, tuneful, fuzzed-up rocker with a whole lot of Jawbreaker and Lemonheads in its DNA. In a press release, frontman Skylar Sarkis has this to say about the new track:

I like retreating into fantasy when I’m feeling dissatisfied with reality because fantasy doesn’t have to consider any downsides. My current favorite is moving into the mountains and never talking to anyone again. However, the most common one for me has always been nostalgia. This song is pretty much about that. Musically, it’s pretty new territory for us. We wanted to write big choruses and big leads because that’s what we want to hear right now. Nobody has ever agreed on a classification for our music so everyone has always just called us a rock band. Now they can finally be right. You’re welcome.

Below, listen to “Memory Lane” and check out Taking Meds’ tour dates.

TOUR DATES:
4/06 – Long Island, NY @ Amityville Music Hall %
4/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool %
4/08 – Richmond, VA @ LTC Festival
4/22 – Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus ^
5/18 – Bloomington, IN @ Antumbra Room
5/21 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs *
5/22 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Underground *
5/24 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Underground *
5/25 – San Fernando, CA @ Midnight Hour *
5/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Peppermint Club *
5/27 – Cupertino, CA @ X Bar *
5/29 – Portland, OR @ Mano Octula *
5/30 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset *
6/01 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Beehive *
6/02 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall *+
6/04 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club +
6/05 – Columbus, OH @ Dirty Dungarees +

% with Somerset Thrower
^ with Gel, Peace Test, Dog Breath
* with Ridgeway
+ with LURK