New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Matt Hock (vocalist) and
David Walsh (guitarist) of veteran punk band The Explosion have formed a new project named Space Cadet and they enlisted a powerhouse group of their musician friends to lend a hand on the band's debut album 'Lion On A Leash' set for release on March 26 via Wiretap Records.
Recorded at
Little Eden in Asbury Park in July 2020 with Pete Steinkopt (Bouncing Souls) producing, 'Lion On A Leash' features guest appearances by Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Minor Threat), Mike Sneeringer (The Loved Ones, Strand of Oaks), Matt Olsson (Dave Hause, Brian Fallon) and Chris Gonzalez (The Explosion, The Loved Ones).
Space Cadet has unveiled the album's first single "Forever For A While" as a preview of what's to come.
Matt says, "By the time the world shut down, we had four songs written and Forever For A While was the first. We just kept pulling at that thread, experimenting more and more until we had an album. In a very real way, the song was the catalyst for all of that, and for the band itself. But it can also just be seen as what happens when obsessive lunatics get their hands on some reverb pedals."
The formation of Space Cadet began when Dave and Matt (bandmates and friends of almost 25 years), had each been writing and recording eerily similar songs, completely oblivious to each other's work. What's all the more surprising is that it wasn't the punk of The Explosion (Virgin, Jade Tree), the band they formed together with friends in 1998. Instead, the music was indicative of other sounds they're into - post-punk, new wave, Brit Rock - not to mention their shared obsession with guitar pedals. From their respective homes of Clinton, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, Dave and Matt have created an album's worth of lush soundscapes ("Forever for a While," "Safe and Sound"), dark synth dirges ("No Accident," "
Lose Control") and anxious anthems ("Scream for You").