Exclusive Stream: Taking Meds “There’s No Way” b/w “Stealing Is Healing”

Posted: by The Editor

On a cold November night in 2018, I crowded into a dimly lit basement in a suburb of New Hampshire and watched Taking Meds play a house show to a bunch of kids I haven’t seen since high school. In the aptly named World’s End basement, these New York punks blew the blunts right out of everyone’s mouth (this is not an analogy; I straight up watched someone’s jaw drop mid-toke at their sheer shredding capabilities).

Set to release I Hate Me on July 12th, Taking Meds are continuing that relentless, jaded but earnest energy on a 24 day, 25 show tour which includes two stops at SXSW this week. The band is an amalgamation of members who’ve been in the DIY year for years in various projects, most notably half of the band coming from the heralded pop punk outfit Such Gold. But Taking Meds branches off from their other groups similarly to how Drug Church drifts away from Self Defense Family. The music is air-tight, but the energy is loose and carefree. The band has no shortage of fun on stage and it translates into their songs seamlessly, blending catchy vocal melodies with off kilter, angular guitar dueling guitars driven by frenetic (and absolutely impeccable) drumming.

Below you can check out their latest offering, the first single off I Hate Me as well as a b-side that almost didn’t make it to fruition. The album is due out July 12th on Near Mint Records, with physical and digital preorders coming in spring.


SXSW Tour Dates:
2/28 – Lancaster, PA – Kaleidoscope Records*
3/1 – Harrisonburg, VA – Easy Greasy*
3/2 – Newark, DE – The Teahouse*
3/3 – Philadelphia, PA – Gonesville*
3/4 – Washington, DC – Slash Run
3/5 – Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
3/6 – Clemson, SC – House Show
3/7 – Asheville, NC – TBA**
3/8 – Columbia, SC – The Space Hall of Columbia**
3/9 – Atlanta, GA – The Closet**
3/10 – Birmingham, AL – Rosie
3/11 – New Orleans, LA – TBA
3/12 – Houston, TX – 1810 Ojeman
3/13 – Austin, TX – Love Goat (Ground Floor Booking Showcase)
3/14 – Dallas, TX – 2513 Deep Ellum
3/15 – Austin, TX – DIY Tourpostings Fest and Math Rock Times Fest
3/16 – Tulsa, OK – Colorfeed
3/17 – Kansas City, MO – The Rino
3/18 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
3/19 – Minneapolis, MN – The Sidepocket
3/20 – Chicago, IL – The Swamp
3/21 – Columbus, OH – Actual Brewing
3/22 – Toledo, OH – Culture Clash
3/23 – Rochester, NY – The Grand Alliance

*w/ Teenage Halloween
**w/ Stress Fractures

 


Follow Taking Meds
Facebook // Twitter 



Christopher Musser | @ChrisMustard


The Alternative is ad-free and 100% supported by our readers. If you’d like to help us produce more content and promote more great new music, please consider donating to our Patreon page, which also allows you to receive sweet perks like free albums and The Alternative merch.