William Keegan: guitar, vocals * Danny Bengston: bass * Erik Jimenez: drums… Read Full Bio ↴William Keegan: guitar, vocals * Danny Bengston: bass * Erik Jimenez: drums
together PANGEA do rock ānā roll as it was meant to be ā raw, unpredictable, and probably dangerous, but also blazing with intelligence, emotion, and edgy experimentation. The Los Angeles-based trio made their bones as purveyors of post-millennial punk, but with their third full-length release ā and Harvest Records debut ā BADILLAC, they pay their debt to the supersonic 90s rock that first inspired them. The band has not sacrificed a spurt of precious energy, instead integrating nuance and dynamic momentum to songs like āNo Way Outā and the undeniably badass title track. The volcanic riffs and massive melodies are matched by an equally provocative lyrical stance, with songs like āSick Shitā and the album-closing āWhere The Night Endsā casting an acerbic eye over the wreckage of the party they helped start ā itās 3am and the drunken fun has given way to sexual panic, anxiety and self-doubt. Slightly stoned but by no means slack, BADILLAC reveals together PANGEA to be both confident and surprisingly committed, their audacious ambition already impossible to contain.
āIt might be confusing for people, assuming weāre like this garage punk band and then hearing this record,ā says singer/songwriter/guitarist William Keegan. āBut we really donāt want to get trapped at all.ā
Keegan first started writing and recording in his Santa Clarita bedroom, his teenage tapes eventually coming to full flower with the aid of bassist Danny Bengston and drummer Erik Jimenez. Known then simply as Pangea, the band played countless beer blasts in and around CalArts, their boozy mayhem and breakneck pop hooks quickly earning them frenzied crowds throughout the Southern California DIY scene and beyond. A string of seven-inches, cassettes, and LPs ā including 2011ās ace second album, LIVING DUMMY, released by Burger Records and The Smellās Olfactory label ā followed, as did gigs alongside a veritable whoās-who of like-minded rockers, including Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Wavves, and The Black Lips (not to mention 2013ās epic āBurgerama Caravan of Starsā US tour).
BADILLAC was recorded with their longtime producer/engineer Andrew Schubert over three intensive sessions at his Tarzana studio, their roster augmented by second guitarist Cory Hanson (of the electronic pop outfit, W-H-I-T-E). While many bands in their position would have simply continued banging out the party punk, together PANGEA decided to throw a curveball at themselves and their fervent fanbase.
āWe wrote like 30 plus songs for this record,ā Bengston says, āhalf of which have the same punky bubblegum vibe of our last record. Then we had this other batch of songs, a little more melancholy, a little heavier, a little darker. I think in the end we just decided to try to not make the same record twice.ā
āWhen I write, there are certain songs that I feel fit the band,ā Keegan says, āand then there are songs where it doesnāt feel like they fit. At some point, I was like, maybe we should try some of the songs that donāt necessarily fit. Because I realized that they do fit ā theyāre just different.ā
Though Keegan cites such unexpected heroes as Pete Seeger and 21st Century K Records artists like Little Wings and the Microphones, he fully fesses up to BADILLACās most primal inspirations. Indeed, songs like āWhyā and the cello-laced āNo Way Outā fuse classic post punk ambivalence with fist-pumping stadium rock, their neurotic hooks, throat-rending vocals, and fat, distorted riffs hearkening back to the glory days of the alternative nation.
āTo me, the album is so obviously influenced by the shit that I was listening to when I was 16,ā Keegan says. āGrowing up in the 90s, all that stuff ā Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer. It wasnāt conscious, the album just sounds like that. It feels like that music is etched in deeper that music Iāve listened to as an adult. For whatever reason, the music you listened to when youāre confused and young gets in deeper than anything you might listen to later.ā
BADILLAC also sees together PANGEA stepping away from their association with a much-hyped scene they believe too often revels in its own idiocy, Keeganās wry lyrics pushing both their music and subject matter towards unsettling themes of impotence, fear, ennui, and detachment.
āWe think less and less about how we fit into this garage punk scene that we never even technically felt a part of,ā Keegan says. āWe just kinda get lumped into that. Iām not really stoked on what a lot of those bands are saying, thereās a lot of misogyny and stuff Iām not into.ā
Like any angst-ridden tunesmith worth his salt, Keegan also directs his gaze inwards, coming to turns with his own cynical view of relationships on songs like the mordant āOffer,ā their cracked melodies and jaundiced skepticism fueled by his recent romantic struggles.
āI went through a really difficult relationship where we were breaking up every three months for four years,ā he says. āAt the end of it, I was just like, āThis is never gonna work.ā It was pretty intense and I think that informs a lot of the songs on the album.
āItās kinda funny,ā he adds. āAs soon as we finished this record, we broke up for good.ā
BADILLAC will drive together PANGEA through 2014, their imminent plans essentially consisting of touring until they drop. Nevertheless, the band finds themselves in the unprecedented position of having to ponder the future.
āWeāve been discussing where the next record is gonna go,ā Bengston says, āwe still havenāt put our finger on it yet.ā
āItās weird,ā Keegan says, ābecause we never had to have those formal discussions, like, āWhat should the next record sound like?ā Itās always been pretty natural. Hopefully thatās whatāll end up happening again.ā
November 2013
together PANGEA do rock ānā roll as it was meant to be ā raw, unpredictable, and probably dangerous, but also blazing with intelligence, emotion, and edgy experimentation. The Los Angeles-based trio made their bones as purveyors of post-millennial punk, but with their third full-length release ā and Harvest Records debut ā BADILLAC, they pay their debt to the supersonic 90s rock that first inspired them. The band has not sacrificed a spurt of precious energy, instead integrating nuance and dynamic momentum to songs like āNo Way Outā and the undeniably badass title track. The volcanic riffs and massive melodies are matched by an equally provocative lyrical stance, with songs like āSick Shitā and the album-closing āWhere The Night Endsā casting an acerbic eye over the wreckage of the party they helped start ā itās 3am and the drunken fun has given way to sexual panic, anxiety and self-doubt. Slightly stoned but by no means slack, BADILLAC reveals together PANGEA to be both confident and surprisingly committed, their audacious ambition already impossible to contain.
āIt might be confusing for people, assuming weāre like this garage punk band and then hearing this record,ā says singer/songwriter/guitarist William Keegan. āBut we really donāt want to get trapped at all.ā
Keegan first started writing and recording in his Santa Clarita bedroom, his teenage tapes eventually coming to full flower with the aid of bassist Danny Bengston and drummer Erik Jimenez. Known then simply as Pangea, the band played countless beer blasts in and around CalArts, their boozy mayhem and breakneck pop hooks quickly earning them frenzied crowds throughout the Southern California DIY scene and beyond. A string of seven-inches, cassettes, and LPs ā including 2011ās ace second album, LIVING DUMMY, released by Burger Records and The Smellās Olfactory label ā followed, as did gigs alongside a veritable whoās-who of like-minded rockers, including Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Wavves, and The Black Lips (not to mention 2013ās epic āBurgerama Caravan of Starsā US tour).
BADILLAC was recorded with their longtime producer/engineer Andrew Schubert over three intensive sessions at his Tarzana studio, their roster augmented by second guitarist Cory Hanson (of the electronic pop outfit, W-H-I-T-E). While many bands in their position would have simply continued banging out the party punk, together PANGEA decided to throw a curveball at themselves and their fervent fanbase.
āWe wrote like 30 plus songs for this record,ā Bengston says, āhalf of which have the same punky bubblegum vibe of our last record. Then we had this other batch of songs, a little more melancholy, a little heavier, a little darker. I think in the end we just decided to try to not make the same record twice.ā
āWhen I write, there are certain songs that I feel fit the band,ā Keegan says, āand then there are songs where it doesnāt feel like they fit. At some point, I was like, maybe we should try some of the songs that donāt necessarily fit. Because I realized that they do fit ā theyāre just different.ā
Though Keegan cites such unexpected heroes as Pete Seeger and 21st Century K Records artists like Little Wings and the Microphones, he fully fesses up to BADILLACās most primal inspirations. Indeed, songs like āWhyā and the cello-laced āNo Way Outā fuse classic post punk ambivalence with fist-pumping stadium rock, their neurotic hooks, throat-rending vocals, and fat, distorted riffs hearkening back to the glory days of the alternative nation.
āTo me, the album is so obviously influenced by the shit that I was listening to when I was 16,ā Keegan says. āGrowing up in the 90s, all that stuff ā Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer. It wasnāt conscious, the album just sounds like that. It feels like that music is etched in deeper that music Iāve listened to as an adult. For whatever reason, the music you listened to when youāre confused and young gets in deeper than anything you might listen to later.ā
BADILLAC also sees together PANGEA stepping away from their association with a much-hyped scene they believe too often revels in its own idiocy, Keeganās wry lyrics pushing both their music and subject matter towards unsettling themes of impotence, fear, ennui, and detachment.
āWe think less and less about how we fit into this garage punk scene that we never even technically felt a part of,ā Keegan says. āWe just kinda get lumped into that. Iām not really stoked on what a lot of those bands are saying, thereās a lot of misogyny and stuff Iām not into.ā
Like any angst-ridden tunesmith worth his salt, Keegan also directs his gaze inwards, coming to turns with his own cynical view of relationships on songs like the mordant āOffer,ā their cracked melodies and jaundiced skepticism fueled by his recent romantic struggles.
āI went through a really difficult relationship where we were breaking up every three months for four years,ā he says. āAt the end of it, I was just like, āThis is never gonna work.ā It was pretty intense and I think that informs a lot of the songs on the album.
āItās kinda funny,ā he adds. āAs soon as we finished this record, we broke up for good.ā
BADILLAC will drive together PANGEA through 2014, their imminent plans essentially consisting of touring until they drop. Nevertheless, the band finds themselves in the unprecedented position of having to ponder the future.
āWeāve been discussing where the next record is gonna go,ā Bengston says, āwe still havenāt put our finger on it yet.ā
āItās weird,ā Keegan says, ābecause we never had to have those formal discussions, like, āWhat should the next record sound like?ā Itās always been pretty natural. Hopefully thatās whatāll end up happening again.ā
November 2013
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Jelly Jam
together PANGEA Lyrics
To view the lyrics for a particular track, select it from the track list above, or search for it.