The Methadones Re-Release This Won’t Hurt… On Vinyl Via Red Scare Industries

Just in time to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Red Scare Industries is re-releasing The Methadones’ fifth full-length, This Won’t Hurt…, on vinyl for the very first time. The LP is a limited pressing, including a never before released bonus track. It was originally recorded in March of 2007 with Matt Allison at Atlas Studios in Chicago, and was remastered for vinyl in February of 2022 by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room. This Won’t Hurt… is available now through Red Scare Industries and at their upcoming shows starting this Saturday, June 11th.

“When we started booking our upcoming shows, we thought it would be awesome to have ‘This Won’t Hurt…’ pressed on vinyl – and Toby (Red Scare Industries) agreed. We haven’t played a show since 2015, so we’re really looking forward to getting out and playing these songs again.” – The Methadones

The Methadones came together formally in 1999 when Dan Schafer (Dan Vapid) recorded some songs with fellow Mopes members Chris Barnard (also known as B-Face) and Dan Lumley. Schafer had played sporadic shows under the Methadones moniker throughout the 90’s as a side project to his other bands, The Riverdales and Screeching Weasel.

Ill at Ease, the band’s first album, arrived in 2001 on AF records and what had been a side project for Schafer became a full-time endeavor. Geographic issues forced Schafer to recruit Chicago musicians Mike Soucy, Pete Mittler, and Mike Byrne on drums, bass, and guitar respectively, forming the lineup that would carry on for the next decade.

Career Objective, a record blending catchy, pop-punk hooks with straightforward rock-and-roll was released in 2003 on Stardumb Records (Europe) and Thick Records (US). Having played as a solid four-piece for several years, the album was a more cohesive release, building on the punk foundation set by Ill at Ease.

2005 saw the release of Not Economically Viable on Thick Records, an ambitious collection of songs veering toward power-pop, while maintaining an aggressive punk energy with the performances. Sometimes wrongly classified as a concept record, the album combines stories of awful jobs, crumbling relationships, and AM radio nostalgia.

Taking a break from writing, the band recorded 12 classic power-pop covers for 2006’s 21st Century Power Pop Riot, their first album on Red Scare Industries. Deliberately taking a more casual (and beer filled) approach to recording, the record blends the Methadones’ high energy punk approach with classic power-pop filled songs.

Not slowing down, 2007 brought This Won’t Hurt, also on Red Scare Industries, a more polished sounding collection of 12 pop-punk classics. A more diverse group of songs, This Won’t Hurt, highlights a band whose power-pop, pop-punk, and rock-and-roll influences work seamlessly together to create a unique sound and energy that is quintessentially Methadones.

In 2010, The Methadones released their self-titled and final release on Asian Man Records. The album is a collection of new songs, a split record originally released with The Copyrights, and two 7” releases. This record shows the band further perfecting their pop and power-pop sound while also delivering some of their shortest and punchiest songs to date.

Playing only a handful of reunion shows over the last 12 years, The Methadones are back with new guitarist Simon Lamb (Screeching Weasel, Dan Vapid and The Cheats, The Riverdales) and excited to play more shows. In addition, Red Scare Industries will be releasing This Won’t Hurt on vinyl for the first time and just in time for their tour this summer.

Call it pop-punk, power-pop, rock-and-roll, or punk: The Methadones are all and none of those, and defy characterization. They’ve influenced countless bands over the last 20 years and we’re so excited to have them back in 2022.