At some point in your life you just have to take account for your actions and face the music. Prophets of Addiction main man Lesli Sanders has taken that to heart. The band’s fourth album, Face the Music, is out now via BraveWords Records, and so too their latest single, ‘Let’s Get High‘.
Lead singer Lesli Sanders said about both song and accompanying video, “We are all looking for a high, although the term is often associated with drug use; in reality, it is most often not the case. In this case, the topic of the song as I was penning the lyrics was a reflection back into time of the excitement that surrounded a new release from a favourite band of mine. It was the effort put into not only purchasing the record, saving up money doing odd jobs, or whatever, as money was never handed to me; it had to be earned. Then I knew I had to be at the record store in a timely fashion as it could sell out real quickly; maybe the particular mom and pop record store only would have 6 copies? I would get there by any means necessary, which usually meant my bicycle. Then the race was on, and after purchasing that record, I would hightail it home to throw that thing on the turntable with an excitement rarely found in this now world of instant gratification.
“I mean, this was an accumulation of weeks, if not months, of preparation. Once that music was blasting, shaking the house much to my mom’s dismay, it was time to double-task, as I would listen to every nuance all the while scouring the artwork, credits, and photos. It was a time of great excitement and a good high.”
The first single, ‘Superhero’, from the album can also be streamed and purchased by clicking here. Commenting on early coverage on both, Sanders said: “So far the reviews have been very positive and have really focused in on and taken notice of the lyric writing. Something I take great pride in as I feel it is a dying art.”
The West Coast based glam rockers also released a video for that first single and they enlisted the services of Lonny Paul Johnson to create the animated piece that you can check out here at RAMzine.
“We felt an animated video captured the whole theme of the song and something I always wanted to do and this was the perfect fit,” said Sanders.
Regarding the album, kicking things off with the downright dirty ‘Flavor Of The Danger’, the listener is immediately clued into what they’re getting with Face The Music, an album loaded with catchy late 70s inspired glam punk n roll riffs, powerful and emotionally resonant vocals and a clever lyrical output. ‘Let’s Get High’ sees the band slide slightly into a melodic goth route ala Sisters of Mercy. The song isn’t a drug reference, but a “recollection of the excitement that a new record would bring as a teenager and after the long wait finally able to hear it for the first time,” said Sanders. The band’s take on the Rod Stewart classic ‘Maggie May’ has been described as “nothing short of punk magnificence”. The band had the opportunity to play the track for drum legend Carmine Appice, who played with Stewart from 1976 – 1982. Appice was so impressed that he asked, “would you mind if I send this to Rod?” The album’s lead single ‘Superhero’ comes complete with a hook that won’t leave your head for days. “’Superhero’ is a song I have been sitting on for a few years and wasn’t going to record until the right musicians were put in place, realising the potential. I finally found that group of musicians,” the frontman stated.
Face the Music was recorded between 2022 and 2023 in Seattle, WA and Las Vegas, NV and produced, mixed and mastered by Phil Soussan (bass player for Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol etc). Drummer Wayne Stokely said of the album, “We wanted to make a classic 70s style rock n’ roll album without losing our raw and punky vibe, but with a modern 2024 production. There’s not a lot of records out there like this one, so I think we achieved our goal. The songs speak for themselves,” while Sanders added “This is the record I have been wanting to record for years. The feel is right, the musicianship is right, the songs are right and now the time is right for you all to give us your thoughts.”
Of the band’s signing with hotshot upstart label BraveWords, Sanders declared “We were looking for the right label and the search was extensive, the most important aspect to me was getting it out there for people to hear – otherwise, what’s the point, right?” while Stokely added, “I’ve known Tim and Giles for years now. Plus, I’m already signed to the label with another act so it seemed like a natural fit.”Prophets of Addiction featuresLesli Sanders (Lead Vocals, guitars), Phil Soussan (Bass, piano, mandolin, percussion, backing vocals), Wayne Stokely (Drums, backing vocals), Tchad Drats (Guitar, ebow, backing vocals, G.G. (Guitar, backing vocals) and Terry Bratsch (Acoustic guitar, electric steel, backing vocals).
Tracks featured on Face The Music are ‘Flavor Of The Danger’, ‘Let’s Get High’, ‘Slippin’ Away’, ‘Walk The World’, ‘Maggie May’, ‘Superhero’, ‘I Want You To Know, Hollywood, Wasted Tears, Last One In The Bar’ and ‘Take Me To Your Leader’.
Soussan recently made a video discussing his involvement with the new album and you can check it out here at RAMzine.
