LOS ANGELES, CA (MONDAY AUGUST 29, 2016) – Frontier Records http://www.frontierrecords.com announced today that punk legend Rikk Agnew is set to release the debut full-length LP Learn from The Rikk Agnew Band (https://www.facebook.com/
Described as the “Brian Wilson of Punk”, Rikk Agnew’s latest LP Learn comes 30+ years after one of the most fertile two-year musical stints in recent memory. From 1980 to 1982, Agnew was a major musical force in iconic lineups of both O.C. hardcore band Adolescents and the goth icons Christian Death, yet also released his own landmark debut solo album, All By Myself. That same power and energy is present on The Rikk Agnew Band’s Learn,
a hard-charging, high octane, in-your-face album of punk rock fury.
Produced by another prominent member of the Southern California punk
scene of the late 1970s and 1980s, Paul Roessler (The Screamers, 45 Grave, Geza X), Learn is a reflection of Agnew’s
raw and unrepentant look at life today. After years of self-destruction
bluntly chronicled in a raw cover story in the OC Weekly in 2014, Agnew today is both healthy and happy for the first time in decades.
But don’t for a minute think the years have softened Agnew whatsoever— the 12 blistering tracks on Learn are very much classic Rikk Agnew tunes that rightfully labeled him as the “original OC punk”. “Boulevard” could easily have been found on the Adolescents famed Blue Album while “Punk Belly” is a poke (a joke?) at Agnew’s
once protruding mid-section that is anything but fat now.
“Deprogrammer”, on the other hand, is a six-minute epic blast of
anthemic yearning that leans heavily on the All By Myself years. It’s a very, very complex and thoughtful record that happens to be a punk rock head-butt to the senses. Further proof Agnew
hasn’t softened is his choice of the cover art: two shocking images of
the ravages of drug use and harm inflicted on oneself and others mirror
on his own experiences throughout the years. Clean and sober for several
years now, Agnew is a force to be reckoned with.
Track listing is:
1. Bash
2. Boulevard
3. Cat Fight
4. Deprogrammer
5. I Can’t Change The World
6. Kitten Robot Blues
7. Learn
8. Life Stinks
9. Nelson’s Blood
10. Punk Belly
11. Ripped to the Tits
12. Think of the Children
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