Poolside Glitter Punks HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS’ Grow Up, Not Jaded For Third Album ‘Modern Adult Kicks’
“A video isn’t just a promotional tool — it’s a means for bands like Hayley and the Crushers to show the world who they are. If you stumbled upon this clip, you would immediately understand what it means to exist in the Crusherverse. Like the song itself, the “Taboo” video is captivating, wonderfully weird, and a whole lot of fun. It also allows the Crushers to celebrate their new home base of Detroit.” – Lord Rutledge, Faster and Louder
“Helmed by husband-and-wife team guitarist Hayley Crusher Cain and bass player Dr. Cain ESQ, the California power trio is guided by sonic contradiction: 60s girl group sensibilities meet grinding rock n roll heat; shimmering radio-ready melodies retain an endearingly quirky vibe.” – Spill Magazine
“The naked embodiment of power pop punk!” – Josie Cotton
Poolside Glitter Punks
HAYLEY AND THE CRUSHERS’
Grow Up, Not Jaded for Third Album
Modern Adult Kicks
Out Today via Kitten Robot Records
Tour Kicks Off September 23
Photo credit: Thomas Ignatius
SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 (Detroit, MI) — Grown up enough to party with the babysitter, Hayley and the Crushers‘ Modern Adult Kicks (out today via Kitten Robot Records) is exactly what it advertises to be: a more polished, wiser “big sister” to the band’s sunny 2020 sophomore album, Vintage Millennial. The band’s new album is a shining example of how to grow up without growing jaded (pandemic or not, impromptu dance parties are always encouraged in the Crusherverse). Anointed as “the naked embodiment of power pop punk” by New Wave icon Josie Cotton—who signed the band to her Kitten Robot Records last year—the California-to-Detroit transplants are helmed by husband-and-wife team guitarist Hayley Crusher Cain and bass player Dr. Cain ESQ (with Action Ben Cabreana on drums). Together, they’ve created the retro-futuristic album that the world needs now: On Modern Adult Kicks, even the most bummer of subjects (addiction, heartbreak) contain a potent antidote of caffeine and heart.
One part pop, one part poison, all “poolside glitter punk,” Hayley and the Crushers’ Modern Adult Kicks was produced by legendary LA punk producer Paul Roessler (TSOL, Josie Cotton, Richie Ramone) and mastered by Mass Giorgini (Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Suzi Moon) at Sonic Iguana Studios.
According to the band, Modern Adult Kicks represents a rare constant over the past few years. “The album was something real to hold onto during a time of turbulence,” Hayley says. “We went through the isolating nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we signed to Kitten Robot Records in the middle of it, and we started working both remotely and in-person with Paul Roessler, who is the closest thing to LA punk royalty we could imagine. That was a silver lining, to be sure.”
Listen/Purchase Modern Adult Kicks:
Vinyl / Bandcamp / Spotify / Pandora / Deezer
Tracklist:
Taboo
Cul-de-Sac
She Drives
Broken Window
I Fall
Click and Act Now!
Lost Cause
California Sober
Surf of Flag (vinyl exclusive)
No Substitute (The Shivvers cover)
Overexposed
Modern Adult Kicks rollercoasters through the Crusherverse’s quirky underworld with a diary’s worth of intrigue. Collecting hooks from track one, Hayley conjures up the electricity of first-car freedom, the woes of suburban isolation and the lurid pleasures of Y2K chat rooms all wrapped in the warm glow of a late-night infomercial. “These songs are about heartbreak, isolation, addiction. But, of course, there’s sunshine too,” she explains. “Josie Cotton believed in us and brought us into her crew. This album is about dancing through the darkness.”
While the newest album single, “Taboo,” is a pulsing Pat Benatar-styled pop-rock anthem that leaves the listener feeling equally haunted and hunted, previous album singles also include: an ode to leaving angst in the rearview mirror (“She Drives“), a moody anti-ballad (“Cul De Sac”) and even a fist-flying punk anthem for the digital age (“Click and Act Now!”).
Elsewhere on the album, there’s new depths of flavor. “Broken Window” is a warning song for serial codependents while “I Fall” has the listener tumbling madly out of love. “There is something very real and melancholic about that song because Dr. Cain and I worked together collaboratively,” Hayley said. “It’s my favorite way to create.” The underdogs among us will find an optimistic rallying cry in “Lost Cause,” which Hayley says is for “anyone who has almost given up on their dreams.” Before the buzz starts to sober up, however; the album makes a left turn into a sugar-coated cover of “No Substitute,” a surprising homage to the late ’70s Milwaukee power pop band The Shivvers. Yet again, the Crushers have delivered the delightfully unexpected.
What the Press Is Saying:
“There’s a palpable temptation for me to label ‘She Drives,’ plus Hayley and the Crushers, a throwback to ’90s rockers like The Muffs or Sleater-Kinney, but that would imply that female-led punk-inspired rock bands with a fondness or catchy earworms don’t exist in the modern day. They absolutely do, and if you need a new one to latch on to, Hayley and the Crushers are just waiting for you to discover them.” – Far Out Magazine
“San Luis Obispo’s Hayley & the Crushers come at you with a wallop and a wink, churning out old-school, sweet/tart power-pop while dressed like they’d found the thrift store you’ve been looking for your whole life.” – Buzz Bands LA
“Like a Sour Patch Kid, Hayley & the Crushers are unapologetically bright and fun, with a wallop of mischief.” – BUST Magazine
“… The Crushers wear their neon pink hearts on their sleeve. What you see is what you get: Sassy, cheeky, surfed out Poolside Glitter Trash.” – Maximum Rock n Roll
“The musical equivalent to bazooka bubblegum stuck to the bottom of your combat boot.” – Melted Magazine
The band takes the show on the road with their Modern Adult Kicks tour kicking off in Fort Wayne, IN on September 23. The tour features Wicked Cool Recording Artist Soraia as a co-headliner for select shows swinging through Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit and more before concluding on November 26 in Los Angeles.
Hayley and the Crushers’ Modern Adult Kicks is now available via Kitten Robot Records.
TOUR DATES
Tour poster
9/23 Fort Wayne, IN – The Brass Rail
9/24 Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn Punk Rock Night Indianapolis
9/25 Chicago, IL – Reggies
9/27 Toledo, OH – The Ottawa Tavern
9/28 Cleveland, OH – Hatfield’s Goode Grub
9/30 Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl
10/1 Columbus, OH – Spacebar
10/7 Detroit, MI – Small’s
10/8 Grand Rapids, MI – Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grillxe
11/18 San Diego, CA – Til 2 Club
11/19 San Pedro, CA – The Sardine / Recess Ops
11/26 Los Angeles, CA – The Redwood Bar
