After 12 years of relentless touring on a steady flow of EPs and LPs, underground rock mainstays The Coathangers took a moment to recalibrate and reconfigure before diving into the creation of The Devil You Know, their new 11 song album due out March 8 on Suicide Squeeze Records. Recognizing that each member had become entrenched in their own style of songwriting (guitarist/vocalist Julia Kugel excelled at the melodic pop songs, drummer/vocalist Stephanie Luke belted out the gritty rock tunes, bassist/vocalist Meredith Franco drove the post-punk and no-wave angles of the band), the trio became determined to meld their established takes on vitriolic punk, playful house-party anthems, and heartworn ballads into a new sound that captured the vitality of their early years while honing their individual strengths into new communal achievements. The result of this newfound discipline, depth, and dimension is the first Coathangers record written as a true unit, as each member learned how to imbue their bandmates’ songs with their own personal touch.
The Coathangers photographed by Matt Odom
