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Nov 19, 2020 By Joey Arnone Speed Stick

North Carolina-based supergroup Speed Stick have announced their debut album, Volume One, and have shared the album’s lead single, “Knots.” Volume One will be out on January 22, 2021 via Don Giovanni. Speed Stick is a collaborative group project consisting of several musicians, and it was founded by Laura King, drummer for rock groups Flesh Wounds and Bat Fangs. The group distributed nine studio tracks and one live track to select musicians, and Volume One is the result of all these individual collaborations. The audio for “Knots,” as well as the cover art and track list for Volume One, are featured below.

“Knots” features contributions from the musical duo R. Ring, comprised of Kelley Deal (also in rock group The Breeders) and Mike Montgomery. King describes hearing the duo’s contribution to the song in a press release: “We got the track ‘Knots’ back from Kelley and Mike on the night of a show we were playing, so we all jammed in my car outside the venue and I hit play. Eyes widened and our jaws dropped, then we all laughed. It was a perfect moment to sit in. Nervous laughter and excitement. Time really did stand still, and knowing me I probably even teared up. It was perfect.”

Speed Stick consists of King, in addition to Ash Bowie (Polvo), Charles Chace (The Paul Swest), and Thomas Simpson (The Love Language). The inspiration for the group came about when King toured with Minutemen bassist Mike Watt and Ed Crawford (aka ed fROMOHIO). King speaks about the inspiration for her group that occurred as a result of seeing Watt and Crawford perform together every night: “Tthat really sealed the deal on me realizing I could probably do whatever the fuck I wanted to do…just took some years, courage, experience, and getting to know and play with some really talented musicians.”

Volume One features additional contributions by Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), Stuart McLamb (The Love Language), Ben Felton, and many more.

Volume One Tracklist:

1. Protect Your Magic (featuring Ash Bowie/Charles Chace)
2. Knots (featuring Kelley Deal/Mike Montgomery)
3. Twin Collision (featuring Stuart McLamb)
4. Plants (featuring Ben Felton)
5. And Again (featuring Nora Rogers/Jenny Waters)
6. Lurk On Me (featuring Juan Huevos)
7. SS Grandmama (featuring Mac McCaughan)
8. Let It Shine (featuring Ryan Gustafson)
9. Pretty Sure (featuring Casey Cook/Laura King/Rob Liberti)
10. Spleed Splick (featuring Clarque Blomquist)

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