Stream: Summer Cannibals, ‘False Anthem’

Kevin Bronson on June 18th, 2019

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Summer Cannibals (Photo by Jason Quigley)

Summer Cannibals are a Portland quartet who take their name from a Patti Smith song and their cues from visceral indie-rockers who launched their careers in the ’90s, some also from the Northwest. It’s been three years since their widely acclaimed album, “Full Of It,” came out, and there’s a reason for the lull from the band who released three albums in four years: band leader Jessica Boudreaux scrapped an entire completed record (a collaboration with the Thermals’ Hutch Harris) and started from scratch.

Much of that tumult is encapsulated in the title track of their fourth album, “Can’t Tell Me No,” which comes out June 28 via Tiny Engines. Angry at The Man? So is Boudreaux — just check out the video directed by Jonah Ray (Mystery Science Theatre) and featuring actor Bill Oakley (writer/executive producer on “The Simpsons”). The song is an exclamation point to her ending what she describes as a manipulative personal and creative relationship. “It’s about doing the right thing, even when it’s terrifying,” she says.

The album’s lead song “False Anthem” lacks nothing for bite, either. “Despise the strong / You know how weak you are / Look ahead and see your future’s gone / Here it is / Right in my motherfucking palm,” Boudreaux spits.

The band — Boudreaux, along with Cassi Blum, Devon Shirley and Ethan Butman — bring their “Can’t Tell Me No” tour to L.A. this week.

||| Stream: “False Anthem”