Endure

New Orleans no-wave punks Special Interest announce ‘Endure’, their third album and Rough Trade Records debut, for release on Friday, November 4th, 2022. Endure was self-produced and recorded at HighTower in New Orleans with engineering by James Whitten, mixed by Collin Dupuis (Angel Olsen, Yves Tumor, Lana Del Rey). Special Interest's songs recall the art rock of Sparks and The B-52s as much as politically-minded punk, and on “Midnight Legend,” the group is more overtly pop than ever before — making something fun during a time of frequent sadness became a central priority. But that doesn’t mean anything is simple or surface-level, with a darkness often treading beneath the smooth production. For as much as the band plays with dissonance, Maria Elena’s expressive guitar work and Nathan Cassiani’s grooving bass lines effortlessly weave together, and shade out the soundscape brought into existence by Alli Logout’s commanding vocal presence.

On their remarkable third album, the New Orleans band pushes their sound to both its bleakest and its sweetest brinks. Pop, disco, and house all melt into their raucous, revolutionary glam punk.

Special Interest have managed that most difficult transition, maturing without dulling, and setting up a potentially spectacular second act for an already strong band.

New Orleans D.I.Y. scenesters Special Interest signed with Rough Trade after making a splash with a pair of raw and outspoken, often grooving albums that combined styles ranging from no wave, post-punk, and alternative dance to pure, venting punk rock.

Endure by New Orleans band Special Interest: the most complete work yet from a radical new force in club-focused punk

Endure by Special Interest album review by Leslie Ken Chu. The New Orleans band forthcoming LP, drops on November 4 via Rough Trade Records

The New Orleans band provide a release from tough times with a hardcore album inflected by funk, glam rock and disco