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Mar 15, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Tom van Huisstede

Later this year, Dutch rock outfit Iguana Death Cult are set to return with their forthcoming third LP, Echo Palace. The record builds upon the scuzzy garage rock of their first two albums, 2017’s The First Stirrings of Hideous Insect Life and 2019’s Nude Casino, incorporating loose psych jams, manic punk freakouts, and simmering jazz rhythms. The band introduced the record last month with their lead single, “Sensory Overload,” and today they’re back with another new track, “Pushermen,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Pushermen” sees the band leaning into their penchant for careening garage rock, building on layers of tight and nervy guitar lines, shouted hooks, and raucous gang vocals. The resulting track recalls both the jagged post punk of Parquet Courts and the ironic sleaze of Viagra Boys, especially given its heavy dose of tongue-in-cheek lyrics “(In the future / I’ll be a drug pusher”).

Speaking on the track, the band says “This is one of those songs that just sort of happened while fooling around. Talking about it now already feels kind of surreal but we were literally trapped inside my home because of the curfew that was installed due to covid. Guitar in hand, we were reviewing the state of the world and the growing division and distrust we saw not only in the media, but amongst the people we know. Someone joked that we should quit the band and go into the vaccine business and so, we had our chorus. A chorus that ends on a more serious note that we don’t want to be victims of our time. I tried to make the lyrics ambiguous enough that you don’t really know which side the narrator is on. In the end, we’re just all people living different lives.”

The say of the accompanying video, “‘Pushermen.’ It kind of sounds like an action movie doesn’t it? Sadly we came a couple of million short, so Hache came with the idea to do a casting video for a fictional film called: ‘Pushermen.’ The scenes we did were loosely based on the movie ‘Superfly.’ If you know, you know.”

Check out the song and video below. Echo Palace is due out everywhere on May 12th via Innovative Leisure. The band are also at SXSW this week. Check out their schedule below.

Can you describe the origins behind this track and what made you choose it as the record’s second single?

This song came about in the best way. You know, sometimes you really have to work on a song. Sit down, think hard, chisel away. But with ‘Pushermen’ it was none of that. We were just noodling around a bit at my diner table, half playing, half chatting with each other, and all of a sudden we just had these three melodies that just really clicked. It felt like solving a puzzle. After that it was smooth sailing. The song just formed in front of our eyes. I even had the lyrics ready by the end of the night, which are more or less excerpts of our conversation that night.

How would you say this new track and the previous single, “Sensory Overload,” introduce your forthcoming record, on both a sonic and thematic basis?

Lyrically in a way that this album is pretty socially critical, or observing at least. It’s also about feeling detached from reality and not feeling at home in time if that makes sense. Sonically it is always hard to put into words.. It will make sense in the ear of the listener.

Is there a general story that ties this holistic record together, despite its generally “wordly” demeanor? And how would you best introduce it to fans?

Echo Palace is built on moral highgrounds and is filled with charlatans, mind controlling goblins and staggering high horses. It’s for everyone that feels caught outside of that palace. Standing at the gates, trying to figure out what the hell is going on inside.

IGUANA DEATH CULT LIVE - SXSW

3/10 - Hotel Vegas - The Smoke Out (9:45 PM) w/ Octopus Project, SUSU, Being Dead, Flyer Club, and More
3/13 - Hotel Vegas - Spring Break Boogie Days (7:30 PM) w/ Why Bonnie, Fake Fruit, Billy Glitter, and More
3/14 - Chess Club - SXSW Official Showcase (1:00 AM)
3/15 - Seven Grand Whisky Bar - A2IM (1:00 AM)
3/16 - Do512 Lounge - Do512 Lounge Sessions (4:00 PM)
3/18 - Hole In The Wall - Howdy Hoedown (11:30 PM)
3/18 - The Far Out - The Big One (TBD)
3/19 - The Far Out - Two Stager Rager (4:00 PM) w/ Thelma and The Sleaze, The Pinky Rings, Pussy Gillette, Die Spitz, Razor Braids, Godcaster, and More
3/19 - Sahara Lounge - A Yayborhood Day Party (10:00 PM) w/ Moon Kissed, TayIs, and More