Tough Age unveils their new video in advance of their first tour to the US to and from SXSW! Their s-t debut album is out now on Mint Records...

Tough Age just debuted their first music video for "I Waste Too Much Time On Myself" in advance of their inaugural tour of the United States en route to SXSW!

Their debut, self-titled LP is out now on Mint Records and you can stream it in its entirety atSPIN.com.

Don't miss the album's incredible single: "The Heart Of Juliet Jones"
 

Tour Dates:
03.01.14 -  Vancouver, BC @ Heaven #
03.07.14 -  Seattle, WA @ Heartland
03.08.14 -  Portland, OR @ Foggy Notion
03.09.14 -  Boise, ID @ TBA
03.10.14 -  Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
03.11.14 -  Denver, CO @ Three Kings
03.13.14 -  Austin, TX @ Headhunters (Mint Records Day Party at SXSW)
03.15.14 -  Austin, TX @ Maggie May’s
03.17.14 -  Albuquerque, NM @ Gold House*
03.18.14 -  Flagstaff, AZ @ TBA*
03.19.14 -  Las Vegas, NV @ Hellpop*
03.20.14 -  San Pedro, CA @ TBA
03.21.14 -  Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
03.22.14 -  Oakland, CA @ Night Light ^
03.23.14 -  Stockton, CA @Bus Stop
* with Jay Arner
^ with Terry Malts

What the press is saying about Tough Age's incredible, debut album:

"Tough Age's forté is scuzz-pop, another term for the sort of chunky garage-punk that comes coated in swathes of sugary hooks." SPIN

"For all the cutesieness that can subsume this sub-genre, it’s refreshing to see a band that can play it with a little R’n’R swagger and not just as a set-up for condescending kvetching and pink-hued album covers." CMJ

"The band's short, fuzz-drenched tracks marry psychedelic/garage band snarl and punchy post-punk attitude with K.'s catchy sing-along melodies." MAGNET

"...all about the timeless, feel-good melody." EXCLAIM!

"The embodiment of the anxiety and the ecstasy fulfills everything you love about the grip, snarl and rip of the greatest stage destroyers ever."IMPOSE

"In the end it’s like a trashier form of head-splitting power-punk…"Styrofoam Drone

"...you’re fully in for an intense ride of garage rock reinvented as the kind of energy punk always tried to have but never connected to." Spacelab TV 

"With its echoey vocals, fuzz guitar, rubbery bass, and thundering drums, it plays like a cross between Rocket from the Crypt's "On a Rope" and Loop's "Straight to Your Heart," as incongruous as that combination may seem—and the louder you turn it up, the better it sounds." The Stranger

"I hope they choke on a gooseberry, or even a snozberry if you want to get all whimsical about it." VICE

"…the lo-fi gem is a great example of the group’s meticulously executed wildness." Diffuser FM on the band's first single "Sea Of White"

Tough Age is culmination-rock. The sound of four radical adults with shared decades of experience, chops and killer record collections coming together to create charismatic, idiosyncratic pop songs for the ages.

Following the dissolution of Vancouver’s beloved surf-punks Korean Gut, frontman Jarrett K. (also a member of Apollo Ghosts, Role Mach and too many more bands to list) cherry-picked a stacked line-up for his next project. Penny “Agamemnon” Clark provides a jangly drone-wash of guitar and backup vox. Lauren Smith holds down the low end with beating heart basslines. Finally, Chris Martell (Sightlines, Collapsing Opposites, and last seen with Jarrett in a Minutemen cover band) rounds out the dream team with monster fills on the kit.

For their stated sonic inspirations, the band is quick to whip off a laundry list of musical heroes. From lo-fi godfathers Guided By Voices to the New Zealand fuzz-pop of Toy Love, the Clean and Bird Nest Roys, they also dig deep into Canadian garage 45s of the ’60s from names like the Townsmen, Jury and Ferraris of Canada. Heck, there might even be a dash of Tommy James and the Shondells, plus the cartoon bubblegum of the Archies, Groovy Ghoulies and Ohio Express. Yummy yummy!

Nonetheless, lingering underneath the surface of their Saturday morning sugar-rush is an ocean of emotion. Channeling his feelings into sub-three-minute pop songs, Jarrett’s lyrics touch upon break-ups (both romantic and musical), dreaming of a different life, and in his words, “being mutually complicit in agony.” This internal exorcism comes across in the music --- placid one moment, frenzied the next --- and in his mind serves as healthy catharsis. “I don't like therapy or drugs, so it's sort how I medicate myself,” Jarrett laughs. “I write these songs to get rid of them. I don't cut myself, I just write a catchy ditty.”

So what does it actually sound like? Tough Age tapped fellow Mint Records signee Jay Arner for the production of their debut LP, and the results are immaculate.

Emerging from the gritty basement recordings of previous projects, these golden-hued tunes mix head-rush rippers, swoon-worthy slow jams and hooks for days. From the barbwire riffs of “We’re Both To Blame” to the beach blanket bingo of “Open It Up” and frenetic fills of “Cocaine Vouchers”, the band slows things down with the stop-start “Ticket to Ride”-beat of “Have You Seen Her”, paisley-pop jangle of “Seahorse” and soda shop romance of “The Heart of Juliet Jones.” For fans of timeless songwriting from an off-kilter filter, it doesn’t get much better than this.
 

Credits:
Jarrett K.- guitar/vocals/jingle bells
Agamemnon Clark- guitar/vocals
L. Smith- bass/vocals
Marty- Drums/wizard of need
Recorded at The Family Christmas by Jay Arner
Mixed by Jay Arner
Mastered by Julian Marrs

All songs written by Jarrett K. except Hundo Pocket (written by K./Clark)
Out November 12th, 2013 on Mint Records