Mediocre, the Los Angeles-based rock duo of guitarist/vocalist Piper Torrison (she/they) and bassist/vocalist Keely Martin (she/her), offer scorching indie rock meditations with their hotly anticipated debut album Growth Eater, due out September 27 on Dangerbird Records. The band announced the record and lead single “Fun Time Fix (We Go Go)” to acclaim spanning Stereogum, Ones To Watch, Northern Transmissions, Punknews.org, GLAAD and more. Today they share “Litterbug!” harnessing their irresistible indie-rock guitar wails and bouncing percussion for an ‘00’s-indebted anthem sure to enamour fans of Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral or Texas Is The Reason. “Litterbug!” is a song that wrestles with the feeling of being completely scattered.
The band shares, “It’s about an awareness of littering your environment with your own clutter and your own racing thoughts with endless chatter, perpetually disorganized and entrapped by chaos. Knowing that these issues are self constructed is what makes the wound sting the most, and coming to terms with your own trash, your own litter, is the only way to actually find the guts to start picking it up.”
Watch / Share: “Litterbug!” video
Seeking comfort in an increasingly uncomfortable world, the irresistibly catchy collection commands listeners to the dancefloor as they infuse ideas of broad existentialism, dystopia and restlessness into commentary on how that angst spills over into daily life. After writing songs during their overlapping one-year stint in Boston—inspired by the cerebral pop arrangements of Tegan and Sara’s The Con, the clean, poignant vocals of Jenny Lewis, and the yearning, hopeful indie rock of Broken Social Scene—Mediocre joined drummer Jake Pavlica and producer Danny Nogueiras (No Win) in his Glassell Park studio with the goal of playful experimentation and with more confidence than ever. They emerged with a searingly thick power pop record that darts seamlessly between ‘00s dance-punk grooves, brazen pop-ballads and blistering guitar lines.
The album title Growth Eater, can be understood from numerous lenses, such as the harmful ways we eat away at ourselves, and by extension, the opportunity for positive growth when one finds the strength to sever bad habits that feast on our well-being. Forming Mediocre as high school sophomores best friends Piper Torrison and Keely Martin have faced huge life changes together. With timeless pop hooks, a mutual love and respect for each other and the world they have built, Growth Eater provides solace and solid ground to stay planted as the world finds new rugs to pull out from underneath you.
