EPK – Human Missile Crisis – Liquor Store Stories (2023)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
For fans of Idles, Fucked Up, Pup, Ty Segall, Queens of The Stone Age, Single Mothers, Japandroids, Solids, The Dirty Nil
Band: Human Missile Crisis
Album Title: Liquor Store Stories
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
“We think listeners are going to really enjoy what we have put together. At least I hope they do. This is something we worked incredibly hard at over the last year and were very proud of how this turned out, so fingers crossed it gets a good reception. We want our music to reach people who were in the same spot I was when I was writing some of these songs and hopefully, it’ll let them know that they’re not alone. We want them to listen to our music and have them realize that they’re not just experiencing this chaos by themselves that others have too and made it through. This album is dedicated in memory of our friends who are no longer with us. For Bryan, Eric, David and Charles.” – Human Missile Crisis
Instagram.com/humanmissilecrisis | Facebook.com/missilecrisis | Youtube.com/@humanmissilecrisis
Spotify | Humanmissilecrisis.bandcamp.com | Linktree: https://linktr.ee/humanmissilecrisis | Apple Music
Distrokid Landing Page: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/humanmissilecrisis/liquor-store-stories-2
“When it comes to partying and being young, there are many “highs” and lows, as Human Missile Crisis draws our attention to in their new single “Too Long.”… The clip gives you a good look at these Dartmouth rockers in action. With fuzzed-out guitars and a garage rock spirit, these three young men know how to command a stage. The video captures what they do best: play live. The band members pride themselves on being a high-octane live act. That’s what the video is meant to emphasize: guys who can rock a stage like they rocked their parents’ garage growing up.” – V13
“With it’s thundering and infectious bassline, crunchy guitars, thrashing drums, and gritty heartfelt vocals, Human Missile Crisis easily achieved the powerful and memorable with “Blackwater”.” – Amplify The Noise
“Three friends and a long-standing passion for punk rock and garage, understood in their most jaunty and enjoyable expressions: they are human missile crisis, here grappling with their recording debut. What is striking right from the start is the light-heartedness that expert frequenters of the reference scene such as DJ VATERS, JUSTIN BOUTILIER and MATTHEW MACISAAC have been able to pour into the nine, lightning-fast moments that make up the album; the verve is ironic and semi-serious, the aim is fun, sarcasm and provocation: all elements which, mixed properly with direct and immediate sounds, come to compose a picture that is nothing short of caustic and full of sparkling ideas. The creativity released by the band is contagious: Liquor Store Stories echoes that kind of spontaneity traditionally inherent in the reference genres. And it offers half an hour of healthy entertainment in the name of bombastic pieces in which technique gives way to the desire to play together, to a sense of friendship that emerges with vigor from the grooves of the work and to a spontaneous and genuine approach. A debut that follows the dictates of tradition, proudly claiming its brilliant originality” – Rock Hard Italy
“I had a weird sensation while listening to the massive punch and swagger of “Liquor Store Stories” by Dartmouth, Nova Scotia based Human Missile Crisis. Not only is the title amazing and sounds like an anthology series on Hulu, the crunchy assaulting guitars, the nimble hyper bass lines, atomic drumming and strident vocal scowling aesthetic had me thinking of a 70’s Mod revival rock band instead of a punk outfit, namely, the iconic JAM. Maybe it is the major 7th and miner chords I think I am hearing, maybe it is the vocal countenance that does have a heavier sort of iteration of Weller, and maybe it is the fury of the bass and drums, of everything really. And it also might be the sense of talking about the inner workings of hometowns. By the way, sonically, I also thought of an amalgam of early punk like the Buzzcocks and more current bangers like Prince Daddy & The Hyena.” -Robb Donker Curtius / American Pancake
“Merging elements of Garage Rock and Post-Punk, they end up delivering an exciting song to the listener, with great melodies and which stands out mainly for its great rhythmic work, with its striking bass line and vocals with great melodies.” -Leandro Vianna / Roadie Metal
“Maybe “Blackwater” from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia based Human Missile Crisis is about wishing those who disappeared from your life well, maybe not. Maybe it is all about the glorious noise, the throttling bass bottom heaviness that kicks you in the gut, maybe not. Maybe it is about finding what you are searching for and not dive deep into the blackness to find it, maybe not. In the end, maybe Human Missile Crisis feels like Black Sabbath, The Dead Kennedys, Coachwhips, Bass Drum of Death atom smashed together into something else entirely, something visceral and impactful.” -Robb Donker Curtius / American Pancake
“”Liquor Store Stories” is a single recently dropped by Nova Scotia-based band, Human Missile Crisis. Boasting an infectious energy equipped with melodic vocal flows and anthemic instrumental work, this is a powerful new tune that delivers a unique blend of styles. Elements of punk, garage rock, indie, and emo are all present here, and the band shines brightly by creatively blending all the influences into one full sound.” -Havoc Underground
“”Too Long” is a melody that will really provoke something powerful and luminous in you with its most violent and rhythmic rhythms, capable of awakening the monster that you keep inside of you, this band will shake you with this crazy song bathed in the best alternative sounds and aggressive sounds of punk fused with the darkness of a more balanced rock.” -End Sessions
“‘Too Long’ by Human Missile Crisis is an energetic, aggressive and dark punk and rock whose instruments provide an auditory explosion in the best of the senses, causing a piece of music full of rhythm to be manufactured. While listening to the song I couldn’t stop moving my head back and forth because of how catchy it is, it’s one of those songs that you fall in love with in a second. I loved the song from start to finish and I hope you do too.” -Javier Alfonso / La Caverna
“The album begins with “Do you Remember”, a song that has a powerful guitar in its intro and remains that way, but from the beginning you say this album is not going to stop, it is going to maintain that hard and aggressive rhythm, although They also have California punk songs like “The Spark”, and of course they also have songs like “Distant Memory”, with a slower rhythm, but with the same strength in the voice. This album really has 9 incredible tracks for those who like garage and punk, and also get into slam.” -Miguel Castillo/ La Caverna
“Opening the record is ‘Do You Remember’, a three-minute romp that must be powered by Jack Daniels because the vocals have that tinge of Lemmy about them. The track ebbs and flows for those 180 seconds but always comes back to the punchy punk-rock vibe that is at the core of Liquor Store Stories.” -Dan Hemming / Hard Beat Magazine
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Band: Human Missile Crisis
Album Title: Liquor Store Stories
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Track Listing:
1. Do You Remember – 3:00
2. The Spark – 4.22
3. Haunted Home – 2:28
4. Problems – 4:00
5. Blackwater – 3:30
6. Distant Memory – 4:02
7. Liquor Store Stories – 4:40
8. Too Long – 4:03
9. Mr Pryor – 4:16
Album Length: 34:26
Album Credits:
Recorded at The Sonic Temple by Lil Thomas – Additional tracking done with Braden Kamermans of the Halifax based indi rock band sleepy kicks at uthful Music – Mixed by Braden Kamermans – Mastered at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon by Brad Boatright.
All songs written and performed by Human Missile Crisis. DJ Vaters (Guitar/Vocals) Justin Boutilier (Bass) Matthew MacIsaac (Drums)
============================================================
About The Album Art:
The album art is a photo of DJ and his partner’s cat NUB who was a rescue. she’s the most innocent sweet animal ever but that stare in the photo is so ominous. and then it was given artistic treatment by a friend of the band Amy Crosby. The cat also sort of symbolizes to me a new beginning. A time when things started to get better.
About the album, lyrically and musically.
Lyrically this album touches on many subjects but ultimately it is a journey through life, love, frustration, jealousy, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, making mistakes learning from them, and moving on while dealing with and existing in an anxiety-fueled world. Trying to make it through the rough patches. Remembering friends who were taken from this world too early. Musically it reflects all that with powerful moments and loud rock-out parts, we tried to capture the energy of our live show on this record. It comes with aggression, romance, hopefulness, and hopelessness but ultimately a strong uplifting message. We’re all in this together, let’s stick together and watch it all burn.
Track By Track – Lyrically and Musically:
Overall I like to keep my lyrics vague in a sense so that the listener can ultimately come to their own conclusions on what these songs mean but here’s some insight.
Do You Remember
Musically this song is intense and, in your face, right out of the gate. Originally it was written after a breakup. I tried to understand where we went wrong, at first blaming the other party but after some reflection, I realized that when I thought I was singing words at the other party in fact I was singing them right back at myself. “It’s too bad that you still can’t face the truth”
The Spark
This song deals with the feelings of anxiety, laying in bed late at night not being able to make sense of where things went wrong, and in turn not being able to get to sleep. There is also a vague reference to an event that happened in my life many years ago. I was walking through Queen Elizabeths Park (Glace Bay, NS) late at night with a friend when a meteor came down out of the sky and lit the entire park up. It exploded over our heads. I like to think that this song musically reflects all the feelings of that moment in time.
Haunted Home
Outside of some of the toxic relationship break-up themes of this album, there are some other tracks that follow a different path, this is one of them. This song has to do with growing up in a small town and knowing that bad things are happening to other people, but everyone seems to not want to confront the situation and look the other way until it’s too late. And sometimes it’s far too late and somebody ends up in a body bag floating down a river. In silence we live with violence, but what if somebody said something? Could it have prevented this situation? Musically this song captures the absolute disgust with this type of societal norm, and it is reflected in the pure aggressive execution of the song.
Problems
This song deals with the struggles of dealing with suicidal thoughts within yourself. “You’re ignorant and free, should you feel the need to leave? I think you will despise just where your choices lead.” That choice is the ultimate choice to end one’s life – and I think that at least in my own situation that would have been the wrong choice. Musically you’ll notice throughout the song there is some feedback that rings throughout the song and sometimes breaks through into the track itself almost to the point of overpowering some parts and this is a reflection of the suicidal thoughts creeping in on a person’s psyche.
Blackwater
This is a memorial track for a friend of ours who passed away. This is one of those songs that just wrote itself and came out of nowhere within about 5 minutes. One day I was speaking to my old friend’s brother, and he reminded me that Charles passed away 5 years ago. Shortly after that conversation I cracked a beer, picked up the guitar and this song basically appeared in front of me. We grew up in Dominion, Nova Scotia, and here on our local beach because; there were coal mining communities all around us – coal dust would wash up on our beaches – this is what “Blackwater” is. Sonically I wanted this song to be powerful and memorable, an anthem to our old friend Charles.
Distant Memory
Throughout my life, I have been cursed with a very clear memory and can recall a lot of what has happened throughout my life. I don’t think I’ve ever even blacked out intoxicated before. This song has a hopelessness to it but also a hopefulness to it. It deals with coming to terms with the ending of a part of your life that was very hard to move on from. “Your sanctuary is wearing thin” references the safety blanket of falling back into the same old trap or relationship that you know you shouldn’t be in, but you go back because it’s easy but now it’s time to move on.
Liquor Store Stories
The title track and arguably the most important song to me. This is one of the first songs that I wrote, and it tells the story of a toxic relationship plagued by substance abuse, mostly alcohol abuse finally breaks down but both parties refuse to let go even though they both know that it’s the best thing for both. Musically this song is very powerful rhythmically and has a bridge that honestly is just fun to play.
Too Long
We always joked that this is our radio rock big-time Grammy-winning hit even though lyrically the content is far from any of that. This song is quite literally about going out and partying and getting so high that you think you’re going to die while having somebody at home worrying about you while you’re out and them not knowing if you’re even going to make it back alive. Speaking from my own personal life events, unfortunately. Musically it’s pretty much a straight-up rock song with a bit of a weird bridge that sort of plays out like a fun night on the town but then things start to get weird and out of control, thankfully though it all comes back together and you finally get to sleep at the end of the night.
Mr Pryor
The final track and a bit of an odd one out. This song has nods to the BLM and ME TOO movements. I’ve always been a massive fan of comedy, Richard Pryor being one of my favorites. Towards the end of his life, he did some “stand-up” comedy shows but because his health was getting so bad, he did them sitting down, that’s what the line “Did stand up sitting down” refers to. I found myself watching on tv what was going on with the BLM movement and the ME TOO movement and being enraged by the way people would treat each other. I just wished we could all move past the racism and sexism and unfair treatment of our fellow humans and just laugh at something together. This song says I hear you; I see you, and I support you and as the final lines ring out, yes, I want to see women set the world on fire. Musically this song towards the end builds to a massive rock outro and that’s basically just a representation of how I think everyone is feeling about the state of the world today, building to a boiling point and ready to explode. “Are you laughing yet? Do you think this song is funny yet?” is sort of my own weird way of a subtle nod to Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain”
============================================================
Band Story Angles / Fun Facts
-Our album release show in Sydney was double-booked by the promoter. We advertised a 9 p.m. start time for a month leading into the show and upon arrival we came to find out that the venue double booked a sold-out stand-up comedy show that started at 8 pm and ran until 930… they also refused to let anybody into the venue at 9 pm who arrived for the normal start time of our show.
-The album was mostly recorded over two days back-to-back. 10 hours a day, live off the floor.
-The very first song we released back in 2021 “Humble Creatures” was also recorded by Braden Kamermans. I first met him when booking his band into our shared rehearsal space and he mentioned he was looking for a band to record for his music recording program at the Nova Scotia Community College. I liked what he did so much that once he graduated, I approached him to do the full album with us.
-We have been friends going back as far as 1991 and playing together in bands in one form or another since 2003. We’ve also all lived together as roommates for extended periods of time.
-DJ has a tattoo of Hank Hill that says, “She’s alright, she’s alright, she’s alight… Propane” He also has a tattoo of a goat. Wearing a bandana, with braids… a willy goat if you will. You know? Like Willy Nelson. Willy, Billy… Willy goat… get it?
-Matt and Justin once played in a dinner theater together and this is where Matt started to play drums. He was always the lead guitarist prior to this in our old band and DJ was the drummer. In the dinner theater group, nobody could play the drums so Matt stepped up and basically just learned as the dinner theater went along. Matt and Justin also once played in a one-night-only “The Band” tribute band… called “Crazy Chester” Take the load off fanny, take the load for free…
L-R – DJ Vaters – Guitar/Vocals, Matthew MacIsaac – Drums, Justin Boutilier – Bass
Three Cape Bretoners now based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Just outside of Halifax, Human Missile Crisis make punk-infused garage-rock. Longtime friends and perennial bandmates, the trio has been melting faces in bars and all-ages venues since 2019. With a live set that’s loud and energetic, the HMC party is a show you won’t want to miss.
A therapeutic journey; Human Missile Crisis brings you on the verge of your thirties while still not knowing what the f*ck is going on. It’s reconciling the forces that pull on your life: relationships, substances, depression, and the world around you. And it’s creating music with no boundaries or preconceived bullshit.
Vocalist and guitarist DJ Vaters has been making music for half of his life. From Cape Breton Island, he cut his teeth playing punk rock with his best friends and electronic music alone in his bedroom. Finding himself without a band and uninspired by the 1’s and 0’s of the digital world, he began to write new music about the heavier things that have come his way. With no direction or delusions of grandeur, the foundation of Human Missile Crisis began to take shape.
Now, together with friends and former Violent Theory bandmates Justin Boutilier and Matt MacIsaac (both of Halifax garage rockers Elk Lodge), the songs have taken a new shape. Fuzzed-out guitars, a bouncing bass, and a solid beat drive punked-out garage rock songs that give insight into his journey. With influences like At the Drive-In, The Stooges, and Television, losing control has never felt so good.
HMC is.
DJ Vaters – Guitar/Vocals
Justin Boutilier – Bass
Matthew MacIsaac – Drums
ashermediarelations.com 