Release Date: August 21, 2020
Genre: Punk Rock
Label: Independent
The Toronto punk rockers The Bare Minimum have released their newest single, “Scars and Stripes,” from quarantine. The Bare Minimum formed ten years ago by vocalist/guitarist Cam Gray, bassist Donnie Hopper, guitarist Mich Hutchinson, and drummer Chris Nikolaidis. They’ve been rocking the Toronto dive bars and DIY basement shows in the Canadian city since. The Bare Minimum was raised up on Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications content and DIY culture. Since their formation in 2010, the band has released two full-length albums and three EPs to date. Also over the last ten years, The Bare Minimum has shared the stage with bands such as Meat Wave, No Fun At All, and Adrenalized. The Bare Minimum has also been showcased by fellow Toronto musician Moe Berg and appeared at the festivals North by Northeast, Canadian Music Week, and Pouzza Fest.
The new single from the group is massive right out of the gate with its melodic, treble-heavy guitar, which quickly begins to intertwine itself with massive power chords, Gray’s raspy vocals, and intense percussion laid down by Nikolaidis. The single has many infectious hooks and chorus throughout its two-minute and forty-nine-second length. Also, “Stars and Stripes,” has an uneasy feeling of dread that bleeds to the song’s surface, both through the song’s lyrics and the tone in Gray’s voice. “Scars and Stripes” covers the topic of cultural narcissism from the trenches of modern life. The song draws its inspiration from books about American historian, moralist, and social critic Christopher Lasch, literature released by Zer0 Books Publishing, and the blog, The Last Psychologist.
With the new single, the band didn’t want to spoon-feed a thesis to its listeners and preferred they came up with their very own. They didn’t want to be another punk rock band spewing clichés. “Stars and Stripes” was produced and mixed by Devon Lougheed at SuperBonBon Sound, while it was mastered by Brock McFarlane at CPS Mastering.
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