Happy Halloween! Today marks the premiere of “Locomotive,” the latest single from Southern California post-punk band Plague Vendor. Listen to the track and watch an accompanying video now below.
Driven by a pummeling bassline, “Locomotive” is a three-minute burst of brooding guitar riffs and garage-punk fury. Throughout the track, singer Brandon Blaine’s vocals shift from restrained to manic, intensifying the primal energy at the heart of “Locomotive.”
“Locomotive,” recorded during the same session that delivered “I Only Speak in Friction,” was also produced by Epitaph founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Since the premiere of the song this past July, Plague Vendor went into the studio with Producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Unknown Mortal Orchestra) to record the follow up to their 2016 release titled BLOODSWEAT. The newly recorded album is yet to be titled or given a release date.
Known for their exhilarating live performance, Plague Vendor got their start in a practice space in Whittier, California, in 2009. After making their name by playing endless shows around Southern California, the band quickly went from gigging at backyard parties to filling festivals with their formidable post-punk. Plague Vendor officially released their debut album 2014’s Free To Eat—a darkly thrashing collection of songs clocking in under 20 minutes. Their sophomore album BLOODSWEAT earned widespread critical praise, with SPIN hailing the album as a “nerve-wracking, full-band blast… explodes from its first second.”