The Effigies return with new album "Fire Aim Ready" on Pravda Records
The Chicago punk veterans, active since 1980, release a record about surveillance, social media and political division on October 23rd.
The Effigies, a cornerstone of Chicago punk rock since 1980, will release "Fire Aim Ready" on October 23rd via Pravda Records. The band built its reputation on self-released records and constant touring, playing historic rooms like CBGB in New York, Maxwell's in New Jersey, 1st Avenue in Milwaukee and Mabuhay Gardens in the Bay Area, alongside acts such as X, The Plasmatics, PIL and Black Flag.
After multiple lineup changes and several stops and starts, the group returned to the stage in 2022. In 2024 they issued "Burned", the final recording featuring founding vocalist John Kezdy, who died shortly afterward. Geoff Sabin now fronts the band, moving between hardcore delivery and smoother, crooning passages across the new album.
"Fire Aim Ready" opens with the distortion-heavy "Move Forward" and keeps circling a set of recurring themes: digital surveillance on "Voluntary Surveillance", social media manipulation on "Algorithm", public polarization on "Neighbors Divide" and modern American politics on the title track. Lead single "Hallucinations" rides a thick, swampy guitar riff. Other songs include "Rapid Decline", "Cult of Corruption" and "Every Brick".
Bassist Paul Zamost and drummer Steve Economou anchor the record, leaving guitarist and producer Andy Gerber room to stretch out. "Lucy's Song" brings a brighter, major-key protest feel and features guest appearances from other Chicago figures, while the album closes with the short, hypnotic "The Rich" and "Skin Deep", a tribute to The Stranglers.
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