Meat Wave Announce New Album, Share “What Would You Like Me to Do?”

Chicago punks Meat Wave have announced their fourth full-length album, Malign Hex, out Oct. 14 via Swami Records. To accompany the announcement, the band dropped their blistering single “What Would You Like Me to Do?” The 10-track record includes the previously released tracks “Honest Living” and “Ridiculous Car,” along with eight new offerings they spent the latter half of 2019 crafting.

The trio decided to take their time on Malign Hex, working on it in shifts when inspiration struck, a strategy that varied drastically from the four-day mad dash of recording and mixing that produced their previous album, The Incessant. One result is the carefully calculated “What Would You Like Me to Do?” in which angular riffs and the skittering slam of percussion embody the track’s too-far mentality. With a driving rhythm, the song bristles with a pulse-racing sense of anticipation, but for what, the band doesn’t directly articulate. Instead, they keep listeners suspended in a state of unwavering suspense, struggling to answer the nagging question, “When the sun shines for you / Only to blow up in your face / What would you like me to do?”

Meat Wave also announced a handful of tour dates throughout October and November. They will play a mix of headlining shows and support Metz, The Bronx and Drug Church on select dates.

Find a complete list of tour dates below along with “What Would You Like Me To Do?” and the details of Malign Hex.