Kevin Bronson on April 15th, 2020

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If there’s anyone we could safely say is “Still Ripping,” it’s Evan Weiss. The singer-songwriter-guitarist, beginning with Wires on Fire back in the day (and at last year’s reunion), on through projects such as Jubilee, Slang Chickens and JUNK, and as a sideman in such bands as Girls, Sparks and his brother Darren’s band Monastereo, has been a constant instigator.

Does he sound tired in his new solo single? In a self-effacing sort of way, maybe. He at least sounds ready for a change. “Still ripping / still raging / still misbehaving / and I don’t wanna be like that no more,” Weiss sings with requisite world-weariness.

The winking video — directed by Juliana and Nicky Giraffe (Devendra Banhart, No Parents, SadGirl, the Paranoyds, Susy Sun, among others) — stars Weiss as an aging rocker, alone with his memories, gold record on the wall and guitar collecting dust in the corner. There’s nothing like a good guitar solo to prod one out of retirement, and “Still Ripping” has one. Still in his bathrobe, Weiss springs into action, looking for another big hit. He gets that, too, just not the one he expected.

||| Watch: The video for “Still Ripping”