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Mar 16, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Kate Hoos

Brooklyn post punk band, LAPÊCHE has a penchant for pairing dark themes with unexpectedly uplifting stylings, bringing together the passionate melodicism of folk and the gritty aesthetics of DIY punk. They’ve been forging this style since 2016, debuting with their EP Bright and Bending, and following it up with a 2017 full-length album, The Second Arrow. The band has since returned with their second album, Blood In The Water, already having shared “Oliver” and “Finally Trying” from the record. They’ve now debuted the final single from the record, “Bells,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Bells” charges forward with irrepressible energy, bolstered by ripping guitars and rollicking drums. The band sounds tighter than ever, with each member playing off of each other perfectly in the instrumental sections, especially as the band falls back in the latter half of the song, slowing the momentum before building back up to a frenetic instrumental climax. The band also collaborated once again with J. Robbins of Jawbox on the production side, with Robbins’ contributions making the instrumentals feel punchy and immediate.

Lyrically, the band once again walks the line between dark thematic examinations and personal growth, diving into what it means to live and love while overcoming addiction. Lead singer Krista Diem begs a loved one to “Love yourself better than me/This machine will die eventually,” yet also finds a measure of joy through the struggle, singing, “So love your pain right to death and shine brightly/It’s dangerous to forget all the crawling.” That balance between the pain of addiction and the hard-won acceptance of sobriety is exactly the middle-ground the band thrives in, delivering a track that simultaneously starkly examines hard realities and delivers uplifting melodic punk highs.

The band says of the track, “‘Bells’ is about being sober and not forgetting how bad it was when you weren’t. It scrapes the surface of the freedom and joy that comes with not being controlled by addiction. Part of that freedom develops as we learn to show up, for ourselves and others, in ways that we can’t when we are in active addiction. The freedom includes being present and accepting of what is. This doesn’t mean resignation, it means acknowledging uncomfortable truths, feelings, and circumstances, and turning them into loving choices moving forward.” Check out the song below and pre-order Blood In The Water, coming April 9th via New Granada Records.