Listen To The Incredibly Catchy Posthumous Release From Queercore Trio 8 Inch Betsy

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 13, 2015 7:30PM

8 Inch Betsy was a shining light in the Chicago music scene, so the community was caught off guard with singer and guitarist Meghan Galbraith's death earlier this year. The band went on hiatus in 2012 when bassist Eli Burke moved to Tucson, where the band originated. But work on what would become their sophomore effort, The Mean Days, began in 2009. And today the LP is finally being posthumously released on 307 Knox Records, a label run by the band's final live drummer Melissa Thomas.

The Mean Days is a ferocious blast of pop-punk, filled with raw emotion balanced an ear for melodies that will have you shouting along with the choruses within seconds. It's filled with love, lust, raw emotion, fury, laughter—it's a spectrum of emotions ground up and funneled through Galbraith's unique sensibility.

We asked Burke his feelings upon the album's release, and he told us via email:

"This album release is so bittersweet for me. We worked so hard as a band to pull all these things together. My only wish is that Meghan could be here to enjoy what she created and to know how loved she is. I struggle with this release and have to remind myself regularly that this album, this release, is not about my grief. I listen to this album everyday as I walk home from work. As soon as we'd set a date for the release I started this ritual. It took me a while to get to the point where I didn't arrive at my front door wiping tears away or wallowing in self-pity over what this loss this has meant to me personally."

But even though Burke admits that the album continues to bring up complicated feeling for him, he said, "The bottom line is that Meghan Galbraith was an extremely talented musician, very loyal, tough as shit, fucking hilarious, raw, real and she just so happened to also be my very best friend."

Thomas spoke about initially signing the band, before she was recruited to play drums, telling us, "We knew the first time we heard Meghan sing "Doomed," with those ridiculous hooks, that we wanted to support this band. The bonus—they were fun to be around and queer. She continued, "It was important to us as queer musicians putting out music we loved to remain supportive. This time around it feels exciting that the record is pressed, we have listened to it over and over again but something is different. Someone is missing."

We're proud to debut the stream of the new album, and if you like it, consider picking up a copy for yourself. We also recommend reading the excellent and comprehensive history of the band The Reader put together earlier this week.