Knuckle Puck have been described as one of the aggressive pop-punk genre’s preeminent forces. The band, who hail from Chicago, certainly live up to this reputation. This has never been more obvious than on their upcoming release Disposable Life and offering produced by Seth Henderson, due for release on February 4, 2022.

This EP, which follows last year’s LP 2020, consists of five songs, including four original tracks and a cover of blink-182’s ‘Here’s Your Letter.’ This cover is actually from Knuckle Puck’s 2003 untitled LP. The band sees this inclusion as a recommitment to their original sound. They refer to “tight, manicured, major-key chaos of ripping guitars, sprinting bass, airtight drums, and harmonised vocals.”

Listeners’ first taste of the record comes with the opening track ‘Gasoline’ which has already been released, a mid-tempo pop-punk song that fans will love. The track is real and honest with an ‘in your face’ attitude both musically and lyrically as vocalist Joe Taylor sings, “With every day spent in the shade, think I’ll watch it burn / Throw gasoline on an open flame.”

This EP does exactly that, throws gasoline on an open flame which ignites something special. There is no time to sit and think when listening to this record; it comes at the fans at 100mph track after track. It whizzes by a little too fast, and before listeners know it, the musical journey is over almost as suddenly as it started.

Highlights of the Disposable Life include ‘Levitate’ and ‘Lonely Island.’ Every song is short, and unfortunately, so is the EP, but on the plus side, it will give fans that aching to hear more. Perhaps collectively, they can usher in a full-length album with positive thinking by putting out the desire for one into the universe.

Taylor describes the EP as a throwback to when the band first started. “It feels like we’re kind of rebooting Knuckle Puck,” says Taylor. “Making this music has been the most fun we’ve had in a really long time.” That feeling is in part due to the break-in working forced by the pandemic, but it’s also a product of a more accessible approach to writing and recording outside of label pressure.

“It was fresh and exciting again,” says Taylor. “It was like, ‘Oh man, this feels like it did in 2013.’ We captured some of that magic.” The result is a record that Taylor says bridges the gap between Knuckle Puck sounds of past and present. Disposable Life is intended to be a reintroduction to Knuckle Puck and a celebration of the band’s past decade and their supercharged mission statement for the future.

This EP is definitely one to grab up as soon as possible and play on loop. It can be enjoyed by anyone of the pop-punk or rock persuasion. If you like music that hits hard, you’ll like this one, of that there is no doubt.