Rude kicks off like a pirate radio signal hijacking your brain—loud, chaotic, and absolutely essential. Frontman Michael Bingham, a reformed graffiti kid with a preacher’s intensity, leads the charge with snarling charisma, shouting into the void and daring it to shout back. Alongside Jacob “Juice” Breeze (lead guitar), Mike Fenton (bass), Nate Punty (rhythm guitar), Julian Smith (drums), and José Luna (aux percussion/synth), the band weaponizes post-punk, emo, and dub into a sound that’s both nostalgic and violently current.
Born from addiction, self-destruction, and survival, this album is less a collection of songs than a dispatch from the edge of the Bayview. Tracks like “Automatic” rumble with nostalgic pop-punk energy and a driving bassline that anchors the song’s infectious, emo-tinged hooks, while deeper cuts, like the album’s last song, “People Don’t Change,” channels Ian Curtis-style gloom and fuzzed-out darkness. “You’ve Got My Number,” a moody song which features vocalist Sharon Van Etten, adds emotional depth and texture.
Bingham has said Rude is about being saved by love before the chaos eats you alive—and that comes through in every frantic genre-swerve: ska synths, steel drums, killer hooks, and mosh-pit catharsis. There’s joy in the wreckage. You can feel it in the Killers-esque strut of the upbeat tracks, the Strokes-flavored guitar jangle, and the self-aware lyrical gut punches about being broken and dancing anyway. Rude is a punk record raised on the internet, cigarettes, and California sunshine—emotional, messy, loud as hell, and exactly what we need right now. Out on Blue Grape Music on October 24, 2025.
