Best known for an aggressive yet melodic style of punk rock similar to that of the Distillers, Chicago queercore band 8 Inch Betsy were on the cusp of a breakthrough thanks to a reputation as a terrific live band and the strong 2007 debut This Time, Last Time, Every Time. Although the follow-up The Mean Days was recorded over the course of several years since 2010, it was never quite completed, and sadly this past January singer/guitarist/songwriter Meghan Galbraith passed away at the age of 35. As a tribute to her, The Mean Days will finally be released posthumously by Knox Records on 13 November, and you can hear the new track “Grotesque” below, a song that was not only a departure from the band’s sound but was never supposed to be on the album in the first place.
On 21 March, 2008, bassist Eli Burke received an email from Galbraith that read, “This one was way fun. I found a vocal filter that makes me sound like a dude. Or dudes. Or robot dudes. Don’t ask what the song is about, I made most of it up on the spot.” LISTEN HERE…