In 2024, the Messthetics, the adventurous instrumental DC trio that includes Fugazi's former rhythm section, teamed up with jazz saxophonist James Brandon Lewis for the imaginatively titled collaborative album The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis. It was awesome. Now, they're doing it again. Next month, Lewis and the Messthetics will release their new LP Deface The Currency, and we've already posted lead single "Gestations," and now they've shared the new LP's title track.
The song "Deface The Currency" opens the Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis' new album, and those guys aren't trying to ease you in. The song is a loud, skronky attack. Anthony Pirog's noisy, complicated guitar lines and Lewis' volcanic sax get into a wild back-and-forth while Joe Lally and Brendan Canty conjure the meditative thunder that they've brought for decades. There are a couple of breaks where the track turns into straight rock riffage, and those parts add something new. Brendan Canty co-directed the song's video with Robin Bell, and you can check it out below.
Deface The Currency is out 2/20 on Impulse! Records.
