This summer—June 17 to be exact—Seattle punk band VHS (that stands for Violent Human System) will release their debut album Gift Of Life on Suicide Squeeze Records. Way in advance of that, VHS are premiering "Wheelchair," a grainy and loud reflection on the fear of getting sick, getting old, and dying in the same place you were born: a dumb hospital. It's heavy stuff with a dose of self-deprecating humor, in the time-honored tradition of vintage Black Flag and Descendents.
"The idea behind 'Wheelchair' is kind of uncomfortable territory for me, but it’s my very uninformed take on living in a sick culture, brought on by my fears of sickness, old age, and hospitals," VHS' Josh Hageman told The FADER in an email. "'Wheelchair' is a 'what's worse: the drugs or the pain?' kind of thing. People are born in hospitals and then people die in hospitals and everything in between is pain and escape."
Stream "Wheelchair" below, and preorder VHS' Gift Of Life here.
Tour Dates:
2/18/16 – Seattle, WA @ The Highline
2/19/16 – Portland, OR @ The Know
2/20/16 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Atlas Coffee
2/21/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Thrillhouse Records
2/22/16 – Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records
2/23/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ All Star Lanes
2/24/16 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Wayfarer
2/25/16 – San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
2/26/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Redwood
2/27/16 – Merced, CA @ Tigers And Daggers
2/28/16 – Reno, NV @ Spectre Records