Name: Crowd Can Talk / Dressed In Trenches
Brand: Lifeguard

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

OLE1953T

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-07-07

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

191401195317

Total Cap

Black 12"

OLE1953CDS

191401195324

Artist

Lifeguard

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Matador

U.S. independent label based in NYC; for company roles and copyrights please consider [l390562] for the USA, [l=Matador Records Ltd.] for the UK company division and the generic company profile relating to either legal entities [l=Matador Records (2)] 
[b]Note that while some Matador releases are exclusive to North America or Europe, they use one numbering system for all releases, so it is not necessary to enter them under separate labels.[/b]

The Matador label began in 1989 when [a=Chris Lombardi] dragged the Austrian duo H.P. Zinker into Wharton Tiers’ Fun City studio to record OLE-001, ...and there was light. Run out of Chris’ New York apartment, Lombardi added artists such as the Dustdevils, Railroad Jerk and Superchunk to the initial roster. Joined by longtime Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy in 1990, Matador experienced its first taste of crazed media attention & big sales with the North American release of Teenage Fanclub’s debut long-player, A Catholic Education. Over the years, the label has moved from shoebox sized offices to larger and larger complexes, the staff has grown from 2 to 24, and the roster has simply exploded. As well as functioning as the North American home to Pavement, Liz Phair and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Matador has helped artists such as Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Cornelius, Solex, Pizzicato Five, Helium and the Arsonists reach audiences worldwide.

Matador has also served as the North American licensee for a number of exceptional international acts, including Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Boards of Canada, Red Snapper, Arab Strap and others. Since 1996, Matador has maintained separate offices and staff in London. In addition to supervising the promotion, sales and marketing of Matador titles on the continent, Matador Europe has also licensed recordings from some of North America’s most acclaimed new artists, M. Ward, Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, and Superchunk to name a few.

While Matador has often been characterized (not by the label itself) as an underground or "indie" rock label, over the years, the label’s musical direction has grown, to the point where many hip hop, electronic and experimental acts play as prominent a role in the label’s sound & future as any number of singer/songwriters and rock bands. Sometimes all of the above converge.

During the 1990s, Matador entered into partnerships with [l=Atlantic] and [l=Capitol Records]. In 1999, Lombardi & Cosloy purchased back Capitol's 49% share of the label, and in 2002, [l613604] purchased 50% of the legal entities behind the Matador label / imprint [l390562] and [l291335] and took over Matador's worldwide marketing.

Back In Stock

Formed in 2019, Lifeguard are Asher Case (bass, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, percussion), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals). At its core, Lifeguard is a punk band. Their music is loud and energetic. It’s also, at its core, visceral and hypnotic. For the Chicago-based trio that can include repetition and blasts of speaker cone-shredding feedback. Their songs adeptly balance melody and chaos, rhythm and drone. Hooks and noise are held to the same standard. Both have to stick.

They’re a young band, but they’ve already found a place at the forefront of an important emerging music community in their hometown. They are quite prolific. In just three years, Lifeguard has put out a full-length, two EPs, and two 7” singles.&nbsp;

Matador Records now release Crowd Can Talk&nbsp;/ Dressed in Trenches, a composite of two EPs by Lifeguard. ‘Crowd Can Talk’ was originally released in the summer of 2022 by Chicago label Born Yesterday, while ‘Dressed in Trenches’ features five brand new and unreleased songs. ‘Crowd Can Talk&nbsp;/ Dressed in Trenches’&nbsp; available on vinyl for the first time (A and B-sides of a 12”) and on CD.

Crowd Can Talk&nbsp;and&nbsp;Dressed in Trenches&nbsp;are closely related. They were recorded in separate sessions, but at the same studio (Electrical Audio) and with the same engineer (Mike Lust) and within the space of 12 months. Each finds the band refining its voice – honing songs that are succinct, hooky, and propulsive. There's a newly disciplined attention to detail. Lifeguard write together through collaboration and improvisation, but they’ve learned to streamline their sound, to make each hook, beat, and gesture purposeful.

On each record, there are echoes of underground guitar bands from decades past. This is not record-collector music, though. It’s the product of a present-day community. Lifeguard are, first and foremost, a performing band and the songs are written to stand up in that moment.&nbsp;

“More than old records – before that, before anything – we’re influenced by live shows and people around us,” explains Slater. “The inspiration comes from playing shows with people and having that mind-blown moment of seeing some friend play at Schubas or Book Club,” adds Lowenstein. “It’s happening on these tiny little scales of seeing kids play live and [knowing] this is something new and interesting.”

Crowd Can Talk / Dressed In Trenches

Music GB