Rude

San Francisco punks Spiritual Cramp release their sophomore album Rude via Blue Grape Music. Produced by Grammy Award-winning John Congleton, mixed by Carlos de la Garza, and featuring a duet with Sharon Van Etten, the album feels like a massive level up or the band. After perfecting their kaleidoscopic take on punk over a handful of EPs and one album, the band has entered a new era, expanding the songwriting duties across the entire group-a role that vocalist Michael Bingham and bassist Michael Fenton had previously helmed. The results are nothing short of ecstatic, blending new wave burn, indie rock swagger, old-school punk, and even dub and hip-hop flourishes, all evident in the first single “At My Funeral.” The thumping rhythm and chunky guitar riffs showcase the band’s evolved songwriting, as well as Bingham’s trademark self-deprecating humor. The track arrives with a Sean Stout-directed video heavily inspired by Pharcyde’s “The Drop,” featuring Bingham walking the streets of San Francisco. With Rude, Spiritual Cramp finds a new balance between the cheekiness, emotional vulnerability, and raw energy that started to emerge on their debut. “When you focus on yourself and the people around you, you can keep your side of the street clean,” Bingham says. “And when I see the opposite of that, I get kind of offended, which is what a lot of these songs are about.” The album reads like a love letter to San Francisco, with Los Angeles-where Bingham relocated shortly before the debut-serving as the unkept side of the street. “My foundation is in San Francisco, California, and from there I can go anywhere and be who I am,” Bingham says.