Header photo by Mary Grosswendt / Words by Willa Rudolph
Lo-fi garage-rock chiming in your headphones, telephone vocals, expertly pounding live drums and a catchy tune—that’s what to expect from Brooklyn-based bedroom-punk-band Stripes‘ new song “Operation: No Hell.” The explosive band plays shows on shows (their list of shows played on their website is extensive), and the dues on stage have been paid because they’re performances are tight and cohesive.
Lead singer and songwriter Izzy MK imbues her writing with raw emotion and it comes out in Stripes’ emotionally aware music. Self-taught on guitar, she started Stripes in 2018 and has since opened for bands such as: Surf Curse, The Courtneys, Wand, and Together Pangea. Their debut album, named 520 after Tuscon’s area code (Izzy’s hometown), is recorded live on tape, which completely represents Stripes’ truly unfiltered and untampered with sensibility.
Though the band has a new lineup and relocated to NYC in 2022, they’re still raw, they’re still raunchy (I don’t mean thematically, but more sonically), and they still put an emphasis on playing live music. Now, they’ve built an incredible chemistry with one another, where you don’t need to chop and screw their recordings. Great as is, and this is one reason you should definitely go out to their upcoming New England tour!
Stripes, reassembled in 2022 via Craigslist, sees Izzy joined by Riley Morgan (guitar), Mitchell Davis (bass), and Austin ‘Chappie’ Chappell (drums). Their last project, Running + Hiding, released this year and recorded with Ian Rose at Daisy Chain Studios echoes the bands’ post-punk and indie rock roots and maintains Izzy’s typical ear-worm melodies and mature songwriting.
P.S. If you go out to Stripes’ New England tour, let us know how you like it! We wanna know how you enjoy the shows we peer pressure you to go… 🙂 lol