Earlier this year, the NYC-via-Rochester band Taking Meds impressed us with their single “Memory Lane.” Taking Meds’ sound sits at the intersection of emo and pop-punk, and there’s a gruff, worldly quality to their music that recalls OGs like Jawbreaker and Hot Water Music. As it turns out, “Memory Lane” was the first taste of Dial M For Meds, a new Taking Meds album that’s coming in September. Today, we get the album details, as well as another new track.

Taking Meds recorded Dial M For Meds with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, who also produced their previous LP, 2021’s Terrible News From Wonderful Men. “Outside,” the band’s new song, is an energized churn about feeling disconnected from the weird dominance games that can happen within subcultures: “That metal neck guitar/ That cost more than my car/ She’s dancing with the stars/ Playing pop punk in a bar.”

In a press release, Taking Meds frontman Skylar Sarkis says, “There is human connection that exists beyond ‘what’s cool.’ But we expend a lot of effort trying to arrive there. It’s a component of subculture that seems much more outsized than it is — as if it’s going to satisfy some actual human need.” Below, check out the “Outside” video, the Dial M For Meds tracklist, and Taking Meds’ up coming tour dates, including shows with bands like 7 Seconds and the Smoking Popes.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Memory Lane”
02 “Outside”
03 “Aftertaste”
04 “Life Support”
05 “Long Tooth”
06 “Something Higher”
07 “Wading Out”
08 “The Other End”
09 “Kindness”
10 “See The Clowns”

TOUR DATES:
7/23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Meadows #
8/30 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom *
9/03 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
9/06 – Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo
9/07 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar ^
9/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s ^
9/09 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen ^
9/10 – Detroit, MI @ Lager House ^
9/24 – Birmingham, AL @ Furnace Fest
10/27 – Gainesville, FL @ The Fest

# with 7 Seconds & Jivebomb
* with Smoking Popes
^ with Born Without Bones

Dial M For Meds is out 9/1 on Smartpunk Records.