The punk rock quartet from Indiana have released their debut album and it's a rattling, rockin', frazzled ride through punk and grunge!
There’s a whole slew of impressive debut albums coming out of the indie punk scene at the moment and we can now add the debut by Neon Straightjackets to that list!
Their 13 track debut- ‘Ex Girlfriends and Ecstasy‘- is an eclectic mix of raw, lo fi, energetic punk songs with the spirit of punk forebears coursing through, mixed in with grungy, melancholy, dreamy tracks that completely change course.
And it is all kinda thrown in together so we go from the sweet lull of tracks like ‘Nightmares and Nosebleeds‘ straight into a grizzled riff of ‘Lady Lazarus‘ that is just pure rawk with it’s ominous bass riff and pounding drums. It will certainly keep you on your toes.
We then segway into a Nintendo-esque synth-y interlude for ‘Insert Coin‘ before the bass of ‘I Hate Humanity‘ starts and vocalist Larry Stahl declares “I love humans but I hate humanity”.
Tracks like ‘Scatterbrain‘ and ‘See You Soon‘ are the tracks that will scratch your punk itch, with a distinctly 1970s punk sound.
Lead single from the single is ‘$#!7canned‘ that has an echo of New York Dolls about it but there’s certainly a lot of variety throughout the whole LP so get ready for some twists and turns.
According to the band, the album as a whole presents itself as a catalogue detailing relationships and various experiences in life.
There’s a central theme of heartache and loss, with tracks like ‘Heavy’ about a blossoming crush, while ‘Stargazing‘ details the challenges associated with young adulthood.
‘Ex-Girlfriends And Ecstasy’ also highlights more meaningful relationships, as the song ‘See You Soon’ was written for lead vocalist Larry Stahl’s grandmother.
The band- Larry Stahl (vocals), Johnny Hopkins (guitar), Mikey Cramer (bass and vocals) and Colton Lloyd (drums)- have been together since 2021 and have made quite the name for themselves playing shows wherever they can.
This is their first full length release and has brought together the various elements of their varied sound and influences in one place.
‘Ex-Girlfriends and Ecstasy’ is out NOW and you can stream HERE.
$#!7CANNED
HEAVY
STARGAZING
HAVE A NICE FALL
NIGHTMARES AND NOSEBLEEDS
LADY LAZARUS
INSERT COIN
i hate humanity.
worryworryworry.
SCATTERBRAIN
TERRIBLE!
See You Soon
Distance (Bonus Song)
Follow Neon Straightjackets on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
The Scuts release gritty digital EP ‘No Profit’
The third of a trio of releases The Scuts have written about the scourge that is modern day capitalism, ‘No Profit’ dropped on 1st December
Album review: 1978 punks The Inflatable Dolls get around to releasing their debut LP!
They say it’s better late than never – and in the case of original punks The Inflatable Dolls from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, this has proven
The Baboon Show & The Meffs at FZW (Dortmund) and Skaters Palace (Münster) Jan 2026
On the last 2 days of January, The Meffs ignited the fire, The Baboon Show set it ablaze – here’s the lowdown on their sold-out
Album review: The Damned – ‘Not Like Anybody Else’
The Damned have always been partial to a cover version. Recorded in a blistering five days of emotion and creative fire at Revolver Studio, Los
LOUD WOMEN support Resonance FM with fundraising live compilation album!
Female and non-binary music champions LOUD WOMEN are releasing a special compilation album via Bandcamp featuring exclusive live session tracks from some of the most
Punk lifers The Casualties share first new music in eight years with ‘People Over Power’
NYC punks The Casualties have broken an eight-year hiatus with their blistering new single ‘People Over Power’, the band’s first release via Hellcat Records. Starting
I’m Molly Tie- I Love punk! I play drums (badly), write a lot about punk (not as badly) and I’m particularly interested in issues relating to women in the music scene.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
