With their feet planted on the distortion pedal and tongues placed firmly in cheek, the bespectacled Chicago trio Pet Symmetry will release their debut album Pets Hounds on May 19th via Asian Man Records. Pulling members from Dowsing, Kittyhawk, Mountains for Clouds, and Into It. Over It; Pet Symmetry is a gleefully spontaneous and unrestrained outlet for good friends Erik Czaja (Guitar), Marcus Nuccio (Drums), and Evan Weiss (Lead Vocals, Bass) to scratch their itchy power pop impulses. Stream the first single “Give Thanks (Get Lost)” below.
Stream “Give Thanks (Get Lost)” via Noisey on SoundCloud
Pet Symmetry took its first steps in the winter of 2012. The idea behind the collaboration was to avoid thinking too much about writing songs or being in a band, and just had fun with it. It was around the same time that they came upon their name. Like pretty much everything surrounding the project, it was an off the cuff inside joke among friends with an awful but endearing affinity for goofy dad humour. Their good buddy and famous “Punk Celebrity” Chris Farren was posting fake band names on Facebook. Weiss saw Farren throw out Pet Symmetry and immediately texted him for permission to use it for the new project. Farren agreed but demanded their first born children, and also that the band thank him in the credits of every album. Pet Symmetry did Farren one better by putting him on the cover of Pets Hounds with a pair of noble beasts at his side.
With all three band members busy touring and recording with other endeavours, work on Pets Hounds has been an ongoing process for the past year and a half. That unique approach towards writing and recording as downtime and an escape from more “serious” projects shows through in the unbridled and upbeat spirit of the album. The majority of Pets Hounds was recorded in late 2013 with engineer Mark Michalik who has worked often with Weiss in the past. It took another year before they had time to put the finishing touches on the album, adding vocals and guitar before mixing and mastering this winter. The end result is emblematic of the heights a band can reach when they just kick back, plug in, and go with what comes to them. No second guessing. Just fun.
