In certain circles, Piebald‘s 2002 album We Are the Only Friends We Have needs no introduction. But for the uninitiated, it’s an indie/emo/power pop cult classic that remains one of the best albums of its kind, so it’s very exciting news that it’s coming back to vinyl for the first time in over 20 years! It’s been remastered for vinyl by Jack Shirley (producer for Deafheaven, Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor, etc), and it features completely reconstructed artwork created from negatives of the original photoshoot, as well as a retrospective essay written by the band.
We’ve teamed with the band on an exclusive green inside yellow vinyl variant and you can order yours now in the BV shop. It’s limited to 200 copies. Here’s a mock-up:
In our 20th anniversary retrospective review, we wrote:
Jimmy Eat World weren’t the only ’90s emo band who pivoted to power pop in the new millennium. Piebald, who started out as a screamy post-hardcore band in the same Boston hardcore scene that birthed Converge and Cave In, had inched towards something a little catchier on their great 1999 sophomore album If It Weren’t for Venetian Blinds, It Would Be Curtains for Us All before fully abandoning their heavy roots on 2002’s stone cold classic We Are the Only Friends We Have. Utilizing big, chunky power chords, McCartney-esque pianos, classic rock riffs, and indie rock quirks, Piebald delivered a front-to-back album of power pop perfection that we’ve shouted along to for 20 years straight. Singer Travis Shettel’s voice cleaned up real good from the harsher delivery he had on Piebald’s earlier records, and he had the passion, the way with words, and the sense of humor to come up with infectious lyrics that were like virtually no other 2000s emo band. Whether Piebald’s making you pump your first to “American Hearts,” or drawing you in with a love song about a school bus on “King of the Road,” or offering up a rousing anthem about how being in a rock band is way better than working in an office and somehow not seeming mean-spirited or arrogant in the slightest on “The Monkey Versus the Robot,” We Are the Only Friends We Have is an album that throws a party and wants you to be part of it. Its layers of irony and sincerity go deeper than I can possibly address in a one-paragraph blurb, and the album holds up so well because it’s instantly thrilling on first listen and you can spend literally 20 years exploring it further without losing that initial thrill. In a just world, this album would’ve made Piebald as big as Jimmy Eat World or Weezer or any other band who filtered genuine emotion through sugary, power chord-driven rock songs. It didn’t, but the songs haven’t aged a bit and they’re still ripe for discovery, so maybe there’s still hope.
The new reissue comes via Iodine Records, and there’s also a deluxe edition with a bonus LP of B-sides, demos, acoustic versions, covers of Weezer and Jawbreaker, and a live cover of Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” which is streaming in full now. And along with the announcement, Piebald have put out a new hi-res version of the video for their classic “American Hearts” (aka the “Hey! You’re part of it!” song). Check that out below, and pick up our variant of the standard LP in the BV shop.
We Are The Only Friends We Have Tracklist
Standard Tracks:
“King of the Road”
“Just a Simple Plan”
“American Hearts”
“Long Nights”
“Fear and Loathing on Cape Cod”
“The Monkey Versus the Robot”
“Karate Chops for Everyone But Us”
“Rich People Can Breed”
“It’s Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better”
“The Stalker”
“Look, I Just Don’t Like You”
“Sex Sells and (Unfortunately) I’m Buying”
Deluxe Tracks:
“You Wouldn’t Be a Piece Without a Mustache”
“Leave My Mouth Alone”
“The Stalker” (Demo)
“The Monkey Versus The Robot” (Demo)
“Look, I Just Don’t Like You “(Demo)
“Elizabeth”
“The King”
“Cities”
“It’s Going to Get Worse Before it Gets Better” (Acoustic)
“Strangers” (Acoustic)
“No One Else” (Weezer Cover)
“Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault” (Jawbreaker Cover)
“The Christmas Song” (Live)
