SWMRS / Interrupters 

The based four-piece bound by their rebel spirit and deep love of 2 Tone, The Interrupters make super-high-energy ska-punk that’s equal parts catchy and confrontational. Produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, the band’s self-titled debut for Hellcat/Epitaph Records sees frontwoman Aimee Interrupter, guitarist Kevin Bivona, bassist Justin Bivona, and drummer Jesse Bivona spitting out lyrics that take on matters as thorny as martiallaw and Big Brotherism while churning out bouncing rocksteady rhythms and snarly guitar riffs.

After teaming up with Armstrong—whom Kevin got to know while taking over as touring keyboard player for The Transplants in 2005—The Interrupters wrote and recorded all of their debut in a matter of days. Proof of the band’s fiery chemistry, the result is a frenetic free-for-all that tosses out anthem after anthem, from the album-opening “Take Back the Power” (a purely punk rallying cry) to “Family” (a swinging, scrappy number featuring Armstrong on vocals) to “Easy On You” (a powerful but sweetly melodic ode to “breaking cycles of abuse and learning how to love yourself,” as Aimee explains) to “Last Call” (an all-out party song and homage to “Nite Klub” by The Specials).

Forming The Interrupters in 2012, Aimee and the Bivonas first crossed paths when the brothers’ former band Telacasters shared bills with her on a summer 2009 tour when she was performing solo as Aimee Allen. When it came time to record their debut, the band reached out to Armstrong (a mutual hero of The Interrupters who had also collaborated with Kevin in producing reggae legend Jimmy Cliff’s 2012 album Rebirth). “Working with Tim, nothing ever gets overthought—it’s like lightning in a bottle,” says Kevin, adding that many of the songs on The Interrupterswere captured in one take. Aimee also points out that the fast-and-loose approach was key to giving her a vocal performance the raw urgency that the lyrics demanded. “Recording the vocals, the most important thing was to be real and honest and if things weren’t perfect, that was totally okay,” she says, noting that her gravelly-growly delivery owes a lot to “all the times I got my Joan Jett tapes taken away as punishment when I was little kid and sang her songs a capella as revenge.”

Having toured with Rancid in 2013—along with regularly playing with Armstrong as Tim Timebomb and Friends—The Interrupters have built their live act on unstoppable energy and a feeling of easy community that reflects their familial vibe. “There’s usually a dance party going on in the crowd, which we appreciate, since we always have our own dance party happening onstage,” Kevin says. The Interrupters’s shared commitment to “never taking ourselves too seriously” also goesa long way in offsetting the heavy subject matter at the heart of so many of their songs. “Sometimes it sounds gnarly to say what we’re singing about, but we try to play in major keys and a superfast tempo that makes it feel upbeat,” says Kevin in discussing “Liberty,” a track written in response to increased use of surveillance technology in the U.S. “We have a lot of things that we’re outraged about and we need to sing about those things, but we make sure to keep it fun,” adds Aimee. “Sometimes it’s goodto be happily outraged.”