PROBLEMATIC
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Label: No Trend Records
Album Pre-order: https://absolutelynotmusic.bandcamp.com/album/problematic
TRACKLIST
1. FAKE AFFAIR
2. BOTTOM OF THE PIT
3. OK
4. YER CIGARETTE
5. GLITCH
6. RABBIT HOLE
7. (((o)))
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BIO
Absolutely Not is a post-punk/glam rock band from Chicago comprised of Donnie Moore (songwriter & vocalist/guitarist), Madison Moore (keyboards, backing vocals), Santiago Guerrero (drums), which now includes Meat Wave’s guitarist Chris Sutter in their live shows. Many incarnations of Absolutely Not have existed over the years, with Donnie Moore always writing the music and fronting the band, but has recently spawned into this powerful four-piece that’s a force to be reckoned with live. “After writing and recording these new tracks, I realized this album is just too wild for three people to pull off live. I’m so happy Sutter was interested and down to play with us so we could bring these songs to life at our performances!” says Moore.
Absolutely Not’s sound and lyrics have always covered bleak political and social themes, but with a comic twist and pop sensibility. The newest record Problematic (self-produced by Donnie and engineered by Brian Fox) is no different, although it’s a bit darker and has a heavier sci-fi horror vibe to it. “Imagine Absolutely Not is a haunted house, and this album is the newly discovered basement level. I wanted a larger, creepier, more cinematic and matured sound with Problematic, but also still maintain the humor and spazzy angular feel of all the previous efforts,” Moore explains. “This country, and world in general, is kind of a dark place right now, so that’s impacting my songwriting, and honestly my life, and the lives of people closest to me.”
Lyrically, the album’s themes tackle issues of racism, homophobia, crime, divided America, and how bleak it feels just trying to live in modern society. Lyrics like “Stop these bad men! Stop this toxic arrogance!” and “Watch out for Becky’s, they’ll replace us all one day!” make that abundantly clear. Recorded and mixed over the span of a year, this album shows a new side of Absolutely Not but is also still a very satisfying listen for current fans of the band. If you’re looking for a powerful, layered synth-punk record, look no further.
Influenced by pop culture and like-minded artists such as XTC, Devo, The Blood Brothers, Dog Faced Hermans, The Stooges, Pixies, B-52’s, and the soundtracks to films such as Halloween, Blade Runner, and Beetlejuice, Absolutely Not has been together for over six years and has played shows across the country, supporting bands like Thee Oh Sees, GOGGS (Ft. Ty Segall), Head Wound City (feat. members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Blood Brothers) and Nobunny.
Donnie and his sister Madison (AbNot’s keyboardist/vocalist) also run Glitter Creeps, the long-running, inclusive LGBTQ monthly event at Chicago’s famed venue, Empty Bottle. Since the band contains LGBTQ and POC members, the entire band is very supportive of those respective communities – they aim to shred ignorance, and igniting change is a huge part of Absolutely Not and Glitter Creeps’ existence and motivation.
“…spastic and ridiculously fun… this is a punk record dialed into an alien frequency with a heavy production that makes the spare instrumentation (guitar, keyboards, drums) sound like a spaceship crashing into Earth.” – NPR
“Absolutely Not is laughing and screaming at the same time, with the Chicago-based post-punk outfit regularly interlacing a kaleidoscopic strain of humor into loud, furious riffs plucked from the hottest pits of hell.” – Consequence of Sound
“…Absolutely Not has always harked back to the days of late glitter-gutter punk and ’80s new wave; like The Cramps and Joy Division had a baby cloaked in black.” – Chicago Tribune
“…fits seamlessly into the Chicago band’s dark, comic sensibility and fresh, glam-rock sound.” – OUT Magazine
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