White Lung – Premonition

Question: what happens to a punk rocker when she becomes a mother? Answer: she makes an album like this. From the very first moment squealing guitar bursts out of the speakers – with the energy of a barely controlled tailspin or a gig that could turn into a brawl at any moment but for now, is awesome – this album captures a feeling of barely corralled energy. No song hangs around too long: six of the 10 are under three minutes, and the longest, closing track Winter, is under four minutes still. To be fair, the energy contained within is not sustainable for any longer and doesn’t need to be; this isn’t psychedelic noodling around, this is raw, feral garage punk.

This is the fifth and final album from the Canadian punk rock trio that formed in 2006. In the intervening six years since the previous release, Paradise, lead singer Mish Barber-Way got sober and had two children. In lead single Date Night, Barber-Way projects her angry and scared feelings at losing her old way of life onto Los Angeles. The song imagines God as a nihilistic bad boy (naturally hot, it’s God) drunk driving Barber-Way through an LA on fire. “I’m on a date with God/And he’s drunk,” she sings, setting up the premise neatly, “He’s talking fast about the past/And why He thinks we’re all just a joke.” It’s good to hear something a bit different in lyrics, a flight of fancy that could be whimsical if it weren’t for all the talk of fire and thrashing guitars.

Second single Tomorrow was written when Barber-Way found out she was pregnant, with an understanding that “life would be different forever and I was relieved to welcome that change,” she says. The lyrics reflect that: “Take it away/We’ve grown past yesterday”. Kenneth Williams’s guitar playing is nothing short of spectacular and Tomorrow really shows it off: a wailing, intricate riff that sounds both reflective and energising. With the quality of the musicianship, it’s a travesty that the video doesn’t yet have more views. It’s something special. Drummer Anne-Marie Vassiliou is a powerhouse underpinning the whole chaotic affair.

The whole album is a furious shot of pure energy and listeners old and new could not be disappointed.

Jessica Wall
Photo: Lindsey Byrnes

Premonition is released on 2^nd December 2022. For further information or to order the album visit White Lung’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Date Night here: