Orlando punk stalwarts Debt Neglector release aptly named new album ‘Kinda Rips’

Orlando band Debt Neglector are the quintessential punk-rock everymen. They’re not too concerned with transcendental matters of high art. Real life is enough to deal with. The shit, the toil, the fight — they’re in it with the rest of us. As they see it, the only way to come out with your humanity intact is just to take it head-on with some point-blank honesty. It may be just the attitude to get us through these times.

The quartet of Zach Anderson (drums), Matt Burns (guitar/vocals), Alex Goldfarb (vocals/ bass) and Chris Pfister (guitar/vocals/keys) are about to reemerge with their first album in four years. Releasing April 4 on Orlando’s Smartpunk Records, the 13-song Kinda Rips is another sturdy salvo of Debt Neglector’s straight-shooting punk rock.

If you already know their deal, this one’ll be a classic. If you don’t, this will be a good introduction because Kinda Rips is as prime a dose of Debt Neglector as they’ve ever put forward. Their classic punk sound remains a rumbling and reliable ride of brawn, gravel and soul. Moreover, the staunch agit-punks are still not good with what’s going on in the world and ready to call out the bullshit.

Regarding lead single “Adios Amigos! Or How to Self Sabotage Without Even Trying,” the band proclaims, “This song is about how, as a species, our proverbial goose is pretty much cooked. We’re slaves to an economic system that requires infinite growth on a planet full of finite resources. We’ve elected octogenarian politicians with short-sighted vision who only act in the interest of their corporate donors. And people have become increasingly divided, suspicious of their neighbors, and cruel to each other. Where is our sense of self-preservation? Where is our sense of community? It feels like it’s all eroding around us and the western world is quickly and quietly heading towards collapse.”

But the new songs also get personal, with themes of insecurity, parental stress and facing mortality. Again, the universal struggle. For all their angst, though, Debt Neglector have always sugared the pill with a rousing anthemic sound built for shouting along, punching the sky and instant catharsis. Their most melodic batch of rockers yet, Kinda Rips is more fun and much cheaper than therapy.

In a time when some of our most fundamental beliefs are imploding before our very eyes, Debt Neglector’s humanist punk rock remains true as ever with boots firmly planted on the ground, like an old, steadfast friend who always shows up for you when you need it.

Kinda Rips is out everywhere on April 4. Ahead of that, their release show this weekend will be an all-day, two-venue punk-rock extravaganza that also features Virginity, Jon Snodgrass, Petty Thefts, Vicious Dreams, Curtains, Steven Grey and The New Eagles. (Noon Sunday, March 30, Will’s Pub and Lil Indie’s, $12-$20)

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This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2025.