Lip Critic – Legs In A Snare
New York electro-punk outfit Lip Critic have announced their second album Theft World, out May 1st via Partisan Records. Bret Kaser and Connor Kleitz produced it. The lead single “Legs In A Snare” is out now with a video directed by Colter Fellows (Chanel Beads, Frost Children).
The backstory is wild. While touring their 2024 debut Hex Dealer, frontman Bret Kaser discovered his identity had been stolen. Hundreds of purchases were made in his name, including the band’s entire Bandcamp discography. When they tracked down the scammer, it turned out to be a young fan in a Five Nights at Freddy’s hoodie who recited Kaser’s stolen social security number and eagerly confessed. He was convinced Lip Critic’s music contained hidden codes forming an elaborate scavenger hunt — which he believed he’d solved. He described characters like “The ATM Man” and places called “The Junk Space” and “The Grocery Store Casino”, all supposedly embedded in the songs.
Instead of calling the police, the band took him to a 24-hour halal spot and recorded the whole thing. “As much as it shook me, seeing him there in front of me felt harmless”, Kaser recalls, “like a little kid playing a prank on you, unable to contain their excitement”. When they returned to the studio, their existing material felt flat by comparison. “All the tracks felt too safe, even boring”, Kaser says. “We couldn’t stop talking about the kid’s story”. So they scrapped everything and built Theft World around the mythology their scammer believed already existed.
“Theft World is an ode to the power and pervasiveness of stealing”, the band says. “It’s about taking something ugly and using it to make something cute. It’s about eating an absurd world and falling in love with it as you digest”.
“Legs In A Snare” delivers on that promise — two drum kits, convulsing bass lines, and Kaser’s all-in vocal performance shifting between pleading and mania. The lineup is Kaser and Kleitz on synths/samplers, Danny Eberle and Michael Sandvig on dual drum kits.
A North American tour kicks off May 25th with support from Bejalvin and Flatwounds. Tickets on sale February 13th.
Tracklist:
- Two Lucks
- Jackpot
- Debt Forest
- Talon
- Charity Dinner
- Drumming With Izzy
- My Blush (Strength Of The Critic)
- Shoplifting
- Legs In A Snare
- My Wife And The Goblin
- Yard Sale (230 Take)
- 200 Bottles Of Eviction
Tour Dates:
North America:
- Feb 19 – Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s
- Feb 21 – Chicago, IL – Music Frozen Dancing
- May 25 – Troy, NY – No Fun *
- May 26 – Boston, MA – The Rockwell *
- May 27 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa *
- May 28 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison *
- May 29 – Detroit, MI – The Sanctuary *
- May 30 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen *
- Jun 2 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive *
- Jun 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court *
- Jun 5 – Reno, NV – Holland Project *
- Jun 7 – Seattle, WA – Barboza *
- Jun 8 – Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall *
- Jun 9 – Portland, OR – Polaris Hall *
- Jun 11 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial *
- Jun 12 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill *
- Jun 13 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon *
- Jun 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar *
- Jun 17 – Austin, TX – 29th Street Ballroom *
- Jun 18 – Dallas, TX – Dada *
- Jun 19 – Hattiesburg, MS – Fat Cat *
- Jun 20 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Altar) *
- Jun 21 – Durham, NC – Pinhook *
- Jun 23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Little Giant @ Bottlerocket Social Hall *
- Jun 24 – Philadelphia, PA – PhilaMOCA *
(*) w/ Bejalvin and Flatwounds
