In the past year or so, Taking Meds singer Skylar Sarkis released new music with his solo project Growing Stone and his political hardcore band Highway Sniper, and now Taking Meds are gearing up to release their own new album, Terrible News From Wonderful Men, on November 19 via Smartpunk Records (pre-order).

The band co-produced this one with Converge's Kurt Ballou, and lead single "Lifesaver" finds them blurring the lines between punk, indie rock, and post-hardcore. It's as sludgy as Dinosaur Jr, as melodramatic as Jawbox, and as punchy as Superchunk. It also rips, and you can listen and watch its video below.

"Co-producing the new record with Kurt was great," bassist Jon Markson tells us. "From day one of basics we knew he heard what we were hearing. It was among the first times for all of us working on a record since COVID started and it was a great distraction to have purpose through the production. He helped us keep the process simple and focused and keep our strengths at the forefront."

About the video, Skylar adds, "This video was very ambitious for us because not only did we once again have to act like morons in public, we had to convince like 14 of our friends to do it too. I still haven’t shown the video to most of them. I hope they like it."

Taking Meds are also gearing up to open Microwave's tour alongside Elder Brother and Weakened Friends, including Asbury Park's House of Independents on October 7 (tickets) and Brooklyn's Knitting Factory on October 8 (tickets). All dates are listed below. Taking Meds also play The Fest.

Microwave / Elder Brother / Taking Meds / Weakened Friends — 2021 Tour Dates
Sat, SEP 25 Masquerade (Hell) Atlanta, GA
Mon, SEP 27 Woodlands Tavern Columbus, OH
Wed, SEP 29 Pyramid Scheme Grand Rapids, MI
Fri, OCT 1 Cobra Lounge Chicago, IL
Sat, OCT 2 The Loving Touch Ferndale, MI
Sun, OCT 3 Mahalls Lakewood, OH
Mon, OCT 4 The Craft House Gastropub Butler Butler, PA
Tue, OCT 5 Rec Room Buffalo, NY
Thu, OCT 7 House Of Independents Asbury Park, NJ
Fri, OCT 8 Knitting Factory Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY
Sat, OCT 9 Brighton Music Hall Allston, MA
Mon, OCT 11 Ottobar Baltimore, MD
Tue, OCT 12 Blind Tiger Greensboro, NC
Wed, OCT 13 New Brookland Tavern West Columbia, SC
Fri, OCT 15 Mercy Lounge Nashville, TN