Like so many practice spaces left abandoned during the pandemic, Hayley and the Crushers‘ San Luis Obispo, CA performance space became nothing more than an empty room—lifeless, save for the smell of old sweat and a little spilled beer. Although the band’s sunny “poolside glitter trash” sound took a major pause during Covid-19, the scrappy surf punks found a way to craft their way back to sanity (read: an ungodly amount of paint pens were used during the filming of their new music video). The band’s video is an unflinching reflection of “the silent screaming feeling simmering under the surface that so many of us felt during 2020,” said front woman and guitarist Hayley Crusher Cain.
Comprised of Hayley Crusher Cain on vocals and guitar, Dr. Cain ESQ on bass and “Action”Ben Cabreana on drums—the band knows a thing or two about feeling trapped in a sunny place (they spent all of 2020 literally stuck in their own real-life cul-de-sac). Lyrically inspired by Ira Levin’s 1972 satirical book The Stepford Wives, the new single is a moody detour through quiet, manicured lawns where everyone waves hello, but no one can hear you scream.
With dark guitars, wormy hooks and the band’s soaring candy-coated vocals locked and loaded, “Cul-de-Sac” is a powerful first single for the band’s recent partnership with L.A.-based Kitten Robot Records, helmed by iconic New Wave artist and label president Josie Cotton. Downtime from a rigorous touring schedule allowed these new creative relationships to blossom, “which was a massive silver lining,” according to the band. The track was recorded and mixed by legendary punk producer Paul Roessler (TSOL, Josie Cotton, Richie Ramone) at Kitten Robot Studios in LA and mastered by Mass Giorgini, who has worked with Green Day’s Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt to All American Rejects, Rise Against, and Anti-Flag.
The video—a foreboding, technicolor nightmare that slowly closes in on the viewer—features dynamic vignettes shot by Thomas Ignatius that take full advantage of San Luis Obispo, California’s vivid (if brief) spring display. Located on the coast midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, what the band’s self-created “Crusherverse” lacks in nightlife, it surely makes up for in prime shooting locations.
“We shot at the rose garden at the Madonna Inn, a pastoral hiking trail and a freaky tomb erected in our local cemetery back in the 1930s… Basically our favorite spots around our neighborhood,” Cain said. “In the past, we’ve filmed at our favorite local hot dog place, a mid-century shell shop, the Sunset drive-in. One good thing about living in a small town is you can DIY to your heart’s content. No one will ever try to stop you.”
