Vancouver, BC pop-punks Chief State have debuted “22 Reasons,” the next single off the band’s long-awaited debut full-length ‘Waiting For Your Colours,’ set for release via Mutant League Records on July 1.
Of the new track, vocalist Fraser Simpson says, “22 Reasons is a song that we’re all really proud of. It’s pretty different to what we normally do so we’re stoked to finally share it! This was the song that started to shape our album, it got the ball rolling and created the momentum needed to push through with this project during what was a difficult time for everyone in 2021. The lyrics are an honest introspection into a breakup I went through, how my perspective had changed from being with someone so closely to then being on the outside looking in. That was the hardest at first, knowing someone for so long to then only being able to see their light from a distance. Looking back I can see it was an essential part of my own growth, the hardship of that time led me to question what I was doing with my life. I had been just waiting for my colours to come through. This album is about my journey over the last few years but it is something we all go through. It’s about trying to find out who you are and who you want to be, trying to find your colours. 22 Reasons is the last single before our album comes out on July 1st, we’re so grateful to everyone that has supported us on this journey! Whether you’ve been with us for a while or are brand new please keep spreading the word!”
The follow-up to the band’s 2021 stand-alone single “Metaphors” and 2020 breakthrough EP ‘Tough Love,’ ‘Waiting For Your Colours’ is the culmination of 5 years of relentless hustle (not to mention a boatload of blood, sweat, and tears).
The journey to get here began with frontman Fraser Simpson, who at an impasse in his life, decided on a whim to leave his home in the UK for Japan in 2014 and eventually move to North America to form a band via Craigslist, where he connected with Nik Pang, Chloe Kavanagh, Justin Pham and Joseph Soderholm to create Chief State.
Uncertainty, longing, a search for meaning, and assessing life choices make up the themes on the new album, which chronicles closing out your 20s at a crossroads and examining where we belong, our place in the world, and allowing ourselves the time to figure it all out.
Simpson says, “There’s definitely a coming of age theme on the new album. We’re asking ourselves: What am I looking to get out of life, out of being in a band? What joys do I want to pursue and where do I want to place my energy moving forward? We’ve come to the realization that we all need to stress less on the things we can’t control and enjoy more of what we have, what we can control and the journey itself.”
Collectively the band members spent their young adult lives struggling mentally, emotionally and financially, in pursuit of their dreams, but the grind appears to have paid off, as Chief State is now on the cusp of something great!
With an ever-growing legion of fans in their corner, a reputation for stellar live shows, and a new album’s worth of kickass songs in their arsenal, 2022 is shaping up to be the year of Chief State.
THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION 
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