Speedy Ortiz is back with new music and details on a new album. The acclaimed indie rock group fronted by Sadie Dupuis released “Scabs” today, their first song in five years. It’s a protest song of sorts, chastising the sort of people we’ve all come to know since the lockdown era whose activism is solely performative.
“Living in progressive cities and working in the arts, you meet peers doing tremendous organizing work. And then there are neighbors who signal their ‘good’ politics through yard signs alone,” says Dupuis. In a press statement, she recalls her frustration with overhearing complaints from customers in a crowded line at the post office, meanwhile workers were experiencing understaffing and budget cuts. “People advertising their support for essential workers acted conversely when faced with personal inconvenience. The song became more widely about self-designated ethicists who don’t quibble about crossing a picket line for individual benefit.”
“Scabs” is the first Speedy Ortiz song to feature longtime touring members Audrey Zee Whitesides (Mal Blum) on bass and Joey Doubek (Pinkwash, Downtown Boys) on drums, and was engineered and mixed by Illuminati Hottie’s Sarah Tudzin. Although this is the first offering from full band Speedy Ortiz in a while, Sadie Dupuis has been busy working under the moniker Sad13, releasing solo music and two books of poetry, Mouthguard (2018) and Cry Perfume (2022).
Stay tuned for local show announcements from Speedy Ortiz that we hope(!) will be coming in 2023. And listen to “Scabs” below.