American Lips detonate with On Strike!, their sophomore release eight years in the making since 2017’s Kiss The Void. The scrappy and artsy “collagen supplement rock” three-piece—made up of Adrian Popovich (guitars/vocals/synths), Jessica Bruzzese (bass/vocals), and Sebastien Grainger (drums/vocals/synths) of Death From Above 1979 —tear through 10 tracks and deliver an emotional, yet economical ‘Fuck You’ to the establishment that also moonlights as a sweaty indie dance floor eradication. 

The raw opener “Record Store Day” only lasts a minute and change, featuring Grainger’s classic DFA howl. The rest of the album follows suit, presenting a noisy insurgency against the overworked population that is quickly on the verge of collapse. The title track, with its synthy krautrock energy, perfectly encapsulates the never-ending absurdist nightmare of living in 2025 with cheeky lyrics like “One two three four I declare a tariff war,” or jabs at the monster that is JD Vance. 

American Lips don’t beat you over the head with their politics, but instead focus on presenting a buzzing energy that makes you want to surrender all inhibitions and just dance through the fatigue many of us are drowning in.