Ground Control Touring

Over the twelve years since the release of ...Is A Real Boy, Max Bemis, the man behind Say Anything, has developed into a revered and mythical character in the alt-rock world. Over the course of releasing four progressive and fan-beloved records, Max has swayed in many different creative directions, but has always maintained a central core based on the band’s ethos of “Do Better. Be Better. Or at least have the hope that better exists for you”.

Two years after the release of Hebrews, arguably Max’s most ambitious and critically-acclaimed album to-date, and accompanying tours with The Front Bottoms and Modern Baseball, Say Anything have returned with the surprise release of I Don’t Think It Is (Equal Vision Records). The decision to release the record as a surprise came from Max’s admiration for artists like Beyonce and Kanye West whose unique release methods are rarely seen in the rock world. As Max puts it, he had become a bit weary of doing the same song and dance leading up to the actual end-game, people actually listening to something”.

In a lot of ways I Don’t Think It Is marks a return to the visceral, raw punk that brought the band to prominence in the first place. On the flipside it is also the most collaborative Say Anything record, as Max wrote with Cody Votolato (of the Blood Brothers), Paul Hinojos (of At The Drive In), Christian Holden (of Hotelier) and a slew of others on different tracks for the record. Most notably it was the first time Max had a full collaborator in the writing/recording process, partnering with Darren King of MuteMath, whom he referred to as a “full partner in the production and composition of the record”.

Catch Say Anything on tour this spring with MewithoutYou, Teen Suicide, and Museum Mouth.