American Restless

Hard-scrabble, the music of American Restless channels the force of post-hardcore, the feral-energy of riff-heavy garage rock, and the swagger of rockabilly, earning the trio subgenre monikers like Spaghetti-Midwestern and Psych-A-Billy.

With their debut album, Rust Belt Rock and Roll, guitarist Noah Lekas and bassist Ian Grant are joined by fellow Racine expat and former Reverend Horton Heat alumni, Arjuna “RJ” Contreras, marking the first time the three old friends converge on one LP. Due out May 2023, songs from the group’s forthcoming debut have already appeared on sports broadcasts like ESPN and UFC Fight Night, as well as in director Maxwell Frost’s latest adventure documentary, Lake Bike Hell.

Recording with The Silent Comedy’s Jeremiah Zimmerman in East Nashville. The resulting album puts the band’s roots on full display with 10 songs in 28 breakneck minutes. Simultaneously a nod to proto-punk and post-punk, the collection combines the freewheeling poetry of the beats, the anti-nostalgia of punk, heavy psych fuzz , and slap-echo laden post-war blues, earning comparisons like Sabbath meets Stray Cats and early ZZ Top mixed with The Clash. One thing for sure, it is American music – and it’s as restless as ever.