Chicago’s the Arrivals—well, singer/guitarist Isaac Thotz now lives in L.A., while fellow singer/guitarist Little Dave Merriman, bassist Paddy Costello and drummer Ronnie DiCola have stayed local—uh, have arrived with Payload, their first record in 16 damn years. That gap apparently wasn’t caused by anything other than life getting in the way, but we welcome this return regardless.
Recorded by Meat Wave’s Joe Gac, Payload is essentially hit after hit; I’m not going to call it pop-punk, as that conjures Blink-182 or some similar crap, but it’s punk rock with undeniably ultra-catchy melodies that expertly balances the personal with the political. Thotz’s “Just Like My Brother” begins with quiet guitar strum before kicking in with resounding “whoa-ho-ho-ho” chants; it’s a platonic love song that’s soaring, anthemic and insistent. (I just pumped my fist a few more times.) Merriman’s “January 7th” is a minute and a half of perfectly constructed anger about the state of our (dis)union, scathing but ultimately hopeful: “Together against all their power, we’re stronger/We can’t live under their rule any longer.”
The right album at the right time, Payload is, again, start-to-finish strong, but MAGNET asked Thotz and Merriman to provide some insight into the aforementioned tunes’ creation. (Read below.) Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 16 years to hear more of the same. [Recess]
—Matt Hickey
Isaac Thotz on “Just Like My Brother”
“‘Just Like My Brother’ had been hanging around in various demo forms for almost a decade before the Arrivals finally figured out what to do with it. The first try was this sort of angular, industrial thing with a weird electronic beat, 1-2345-6 with the kick on the one, snare on the six and electronic toms on the other beats. The lyrics were this long story about a guy who’s having a fun night out with his friend and misunderstands their friendship as romantic. That’s where the ‘You’re just like my brother’ lyric was born. The friend says that to the protagonist in response to him making a pass. The original version did have the ‘whoa-ho-ho-ho’s, but just at the end. I showed the demo to my friend Gabe and he was like, ‘Dude, you’re burying the lede.’
Then I demoed it with something like the Guided By Voices ‘Motor Away’ beat and stripped down the lyrics, and the ‘whoa-ho’s became more of a part of the song. It had this sort of Springsteenesque feel with a piano playing something close to what would become the melody that Dave plays during the verses. From there, Ronnie reinvented the GBV beat with tons of toms. Dave rewrote the opening melody for guitar and came up with that solo melody hook and his other parts, and Paddy added that wall up on the bass. We all together just sort of felt out the dynamics about when to get loud, when to get soft and when to let the drums and vocals take the lead. I added some Moog to elevate the end. That’s pretty much the evolution of the song in a nutshell.”
Little Dave Merriman on “January 7th”
“It started as a protest song, but it concentrated on tactics and didn’t ever click with me. Plus, it was yelled in a higher register that I could never really reach. Musically, it has been the same since the beginning: a mix of Cure rhythms and Cock Sparrer power. The new lyrics were obviously influenced by the insurrection in 2021, but the bigger message was about us shifting the focus of our anger from our neighbors to the ruling class who sicced us on each other. I had a chorus planned between verses, and nothing I could think of wasn’t some corny platitude. Isaac said, ‘What if it doesn’t have a chorus?’ which inspired the idea for the Beethoven-meets-Billy Duffy guitar lead that I put in its place.”
