They’re back, they’re better, they’re… nice now? Georgia punk outfit Upchuck return with their third studio album I’m Nice Now clenched in a bloody fist, with wicked guitar god Ty Segall serving as producer for a second time. Born of rage and despair at the powers that be, the album walks the line between the need for self-preservation and the desire for change, for “the fuckery to end” as frontwoman Kalia “KT” Thompson puts it.
Formed in 2018 at the height of the first Trump administration, Upchuck garnered a cult following in their hometown of Atlanta playing shows on the underground circuit before releasing their debut album Sense Yourself in 2022. Their sophomore album Bite the Hand that Feeds pushed them into the limelight – released in 2023 with Ty Segall as producer for the first time, landing them supporting slots for both Faye Webster and Amyl and the Sniffers as well as earning them global renown.
After a fast-paced few years, it would appear that the band have tired of punk – after all, they’re nice now, right? Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studio, straddling the border of Texas and the Rio Grande in Mexico, the band sat down with Segall to create a scuzzy mind-beating, Stooges-influenced 30 minutes of raw emotion. Is it nice? No, but the usual rage is channelled in a intriguingly different manner.
In the era of a second Trump administration, I’m Nice Now spits in the face of the age of authoritarianism, perfectly introduced by the opening track ‘Tired’ – a song that’s simultaneously a one-sided shouting match with governing bodies and a plea for the needs of the people to be fulfilled. As the opening lyrics shout “And I’m tired of darker news // And I’ve tried warning you”, the song goes on to lament the lack of attention paid to the plight of marginalised American citizens, asking “how many people // gonna tell ya that ya fucking fried // how many people // gonna tell ya they exhausted”.
This sharp critical lyricism feels their most authentic yet, with this shining through in the ninth track ‘Forgotten Token’. During the creation of I’m Nice Now, KT’s sister passed away – this song takes the opportunity to address her loss, her life, and the ways she was undervalued in her time. The track itself feels fucked-up – battered, bruised, limping and tender, as KT howls out “I just feel // cuz I’m black // it gets stacked // in a lost closet // forgotten token” while guitars scream and crash like cars on a highway. The overall effect is haunting and unforgettable – a tight punk song punched through with grief.
Elsewhere, Spanish lyrics provided by Upchuck’s drummer Chris Salado provide another highlight. Having been encouraged by the band to write in his native language, the duets of KT and Salgado feel like an intense kickback, a response to the culmination of insanity happening in present America and Salgado highlighted the importance of unity through music and the importance of representing Latino punks when talking about the album. This addition serves to further add to the visceral and raw feeling of the album, lyrics like “[translation] give me a moment to suffer, give me a moment to live, give me a moment to think, give me a moment to fly” – tear your chest apart with their honesty and humanity.
With a knife to her grill and her grin, KT and the band howl, growl and scream their way through a “nice album” – full of their signature rage but tinged with tiredness. “how many generations of punk are gonna live through this?”, KT herself states as ICE roam the streets of America and the world becomes a more unstable place by the day, Upchuck have ripped through the fuckery to gift us a raw, powerful album that is definitely not nice.
8.5/10
