Chief State Release Sophomore Album ‘Keep Your Friends Closer’

Canadian pop-punk standouts Chief State have released their sophomore album Keep Your Friends Closer via Mutant League Records. Fast, punchy, and packed with the band’s signature melodic urgency, the LP captures Chief State stepping confidently into a bold new chapter.

Produced, engineered, and mixed by Tim Creviston (Spiritbox, Youth Fountain) and mastered by Stu McKillop at Rain City Recorders, Keep Your Friends Closer finds Chief State leaning into a more collaborative and fully realized sound. The record captures the band navigating a period of major change while doubling down on the grit, honesty, and soaring hooks that have fueled their rise within modern pop-punk.

With years of relentless touring across North America and a growing international fanbase, Chief State have steadily carved out a place among the genre’s most exciting contemporary voices. Keep Your Friends Closer builds on that momentum with sharper songwriting, bigger choruses, and a renewed sense of purpose.

The band is celebrating the album’s arrival with an official album release show set for May 9th at The Pearl, with support from Dead Churches and Darryl Saves Lives.