L7 Share Lead Single “Burn Baby” from Scatter the Rats, Their First New Album in 20 Years

L.A. grungerockers L7 are back with a bang. Not only did they release a video for their new single “Burn Baby” Thursday, but the band have also detailed their forthcoming album Scatter the Rats, out May 3 via Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records.

Of their new label home, frontwoman Donita Sparks says in a statement, “When we decided to make a new record, Joan was there for us as the good friend she has always been. So great to stomp into Blackheart Records with her at the helm. We’re very excited to work with Joan and the entire Blackheart family. Just imagine the family dinners!”

The group first formed in 1985, with members Sparks, Suzi Gardner (guitar), Jennifer Finch (bass) and Dee Plakas (drums) uniting to craft rollicking tunes often centered around political messages. Starting in 2001, the band took an indefinite hiatus, but since 2015 they’ve hit the road and become increasingly active. Besides touring, L7 released two rattling singles to mark their return to music: “Dispatch from Mar-A-Lago” in 2017 and “I Came Back to Bitch” last year. Scatter the Rats is set to be L7’s first new full-length album in 20 years, their last release being 1999’s Slap-Happy.

L7 worked with producers Norm Block (Jenny Lee, Paper Cranes, Plexi) and Nick Launay (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on the forthcoming album, recording at Happy Ending Studios and Sunset Sound in L.A. Block inadvertently came up with the name for the record during one of their sessions.

“There were a couple of rats in the basement of the studio, where all the amplifiers were, and at one point Norm said to us, ‘Let’s get rockin’, we can scatter the rats,’” Sparks said.

This lead single would drive out any rodents daring to hang around. “Burn Baby” sees the punk veterans celebrating their headbanging, dynamic roots with guitar riffs galore. The track is all about “letting go of old grudges for the sake of fighting a greater evil,” according to a press release. The accompanying video, directed by Courtney and Hillary Andujar, looks like a particularly raucous performance at The Bronze of Buffy fame.

“Burn Baby” will be available on a Record Store Day 7-inch along with b-side “Fighting The Crave.” Check out the video below, along with the album’s details and the band’s forthcoming dates on The Bash Music & Craft Beer Festival tour.

Scatter the Rats Album Art:

Scatter the Rats Tracklist:
01. Burn Baby
02. Fighting the Crave
03. Proto Prototype
04. Stadium West
05. Murky Water Cafe
06. Ouija Board Lies
07. Garbage Truck
08. Holding Pattern
09. Uppin’ The Ice

L7 Tour Dates:

May
11 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Margaret T. Hance Park
12 – Tucson, Ariz. @ Rillito Park Racetrack

June
02 – Englishtown, N.J. @ Old Bridge Township Raceway
08 – Boise, Idaho @ Memorial Stadium
09 – Tacoma, Wash. @ America’s Car Museum
15 – Santa Clara, Calif. @ Santa Clara County Fairgrounds
16 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Papa Murphy’s Park