We hadn’t had any new music or shows from post-hardcore collective Self Defense Family for a while as Patrick Kindlon has been busy with Drug Church, but they have a few shows lined up this summer, and now they’ve shared a new song, their first in six years.
About “Reclusion,” Kindlon says, “I’ve been trying to write lyrics about family and animals instead of songs about being atomized and thinking everyone is crazy. But it turns out even my love songs are about being atomized and thinking everyone is crazy. Call it a creative through line, I guess.”
“We’ve been playing together forever, so meeting up to write and record some songs is just a natural thing that happens,” he adds. “We recorded last year, but I’ve been holding up the process. Typically I go into the studio and write while I record, and it’s only ever about conveying a moment. But this time I’m struggling with the idea of getting things ‘perfect.’ A silly idea. But some of these songs are about things I want to get right the first time. I’ve got a family I love but everyone is dying on me. I’d like to have lyrics that do it all justice.”
As for those shows, Self Defense Family will support Fiddlehead on a couple dates, including NYC’s Warsaw on July 31, and they also have a show with Ink & Dagger in Chicago. See all dates below.
SELF DEFENSE FAMILY: 2026 TOUR DATES
07/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Lithuanian Music Hall *
07/31 New York, NY @ Warsaw *
08/20 Chicago, IL @ Metro ^
* w/ Fiddlehead, Elliott, Posición Unida
^ w/ Ink & Dagger, Stress Positions, Slow Mass