CANCER BATS have released the official music video for "Give Me Dirt", the title track of their eighth studio album, out August 7 via Bat Skull Records in partnership with New Damage Records in Canada and Marshall Records elsewhere. The clip was directed by Mitch Barnes, who also handled the videos for earlier singles "Stay Stuck" and "Long Tooth".
The follow-up to 2022's Juno-nominated "Psychic Jailbreak" was produced by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, KVELERTAK, HIGH ON FIRE, EVERY TIME I DIE) and Zach Weeks at GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, with vocals cut by Ian Romano at Camera Varda Studios in Welland, Ontario.
As with their earlier work, the material came together with all four members — vocalist Liam Cormier, drummer Mike Peters, bassist Jaye Schwarzer and guitarist Jackson Landry, who replaced Scott Middleton in 2023 — jamming in the same room. Once the riffs, breakdowns and grooves were locked in, Cormier retreated to rural Nova Scotia to write lyrics and vocal hooks, many of which took shape on dusty forest roads, dirt bike trails and secluded North Shore beaches.
Inspired by a year of travel, "Give Me Dirt" works as both an outward and an inward journey. The songs deal with leaving urban life behind, processing personal loss and confronting environmental devastation. Motorcycle travel runs through the record as another thread, from riding the harsh conditions of the Canadian Rockies to a transformative trip through the mountains of Nepal shortly before recording.
That return-to-the-physical theme also shaped the artwork. Rather than working digitally, Cormier built a four-foot-by-eight-foot mixed-media painting for the front and back covers using paint, paper, stencils and drywall mud, with a second piece of similar size made for the liner notes, featuring handwritten lyrics and collage.
"So many people I find are so sick of A.I. these days and all things that look too polished," Cormier explains. "I wanted the artwork to capture the energy of the album but also represent us as a band; we are rough and dirty, our sound is loud and a mix of so many influences. Making art like this felt like such a good visual representation of not only the songs, but also CANCER BATS ourselves."
"Give Me Dirt" track listing:
- World Wild Fire Death Race (feat. Nate Newton)
- Stay Stuck
- Don't Trip
- Bright Eyes Of Gold (feat. Chris Creswell)
- Give Me Dirt
- Long Tooth (feat. Brooklyn Doran)
- Speed Wizard
- Ocean Crash
- Positive Grid
- Prognosis
- Fool Like You (feat. Efrem Schulz)
Source: blabbermouth.net