Cool Band Alert - Cel Ray

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Name: Cel Ray
From: Chicago, Illinois
Members: Maddie Daviss (vocals), Josh Rodin (guitar), Kevin Goggin (bass), Alex Watson (drums)
RIYL: Amyl and the Sniffers, Uranium Club, Snooper, SPRINTS, Alien Nosejob
The Gist: Hilarious, heady punk ripped straight from the headlines.

Can’t decide between egg or chain punk? The new one from Chicago’s Cel Ray is your solution: prime cuts from the rare wrecking crew liable to make you burst out laughing while they’re kicking your eardrums in. Cel Rayzer’s arrangements, grime-specked and swaddled in a sumptuous late-’80s, early-’90s shag, are supplemented by irreverent lyrics that offer pointed critiques of present-day issues like soaring gas prices and smartphones, along with evergreen topics like love, rage, and (because this is punk) trash. There’s even an ode to the infantilizing race-to-the-bottom in our times, the so-called “Treat Economy,” which contains one of the album’s rawest—and silliest—moments; a gnashing, seething Daviss, seemingly possessed by Veruca Salt (the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character, not the alternative rock band) screeching, “I want a sweet treat!!!” with the bloodthirsty insistence of a freedom fighter mid-coup.

Cel Rayzer is out now on Exploding in Sound. Get it here.

To get a lay of the land in general, check out The Best Punk on Bandcamp, Sims Hardin’s monthly roundup of the best new releases by up-and-comers and well-established bands alike. Zooming out to Chicago’s DIY scene writ large, you can find a lay of the land here. And while Cel Ray don’t play riot grrrl music per se, their feminist lyrics and punk roots more than justify some crate-digging, don’t you think?

Come hang in the chat with artists celebrating their record release this week on Bandcamp.