Public Opinion shot out of Denver’s hardcore scene, going from playing cramped DIY spaces to racking up miles with Alkaline Trio, Spiritual Cramp, and Militarie Gun. The latter’s Ian Shelton co-produced 2024’s Painted On Smile — their 10-song debut album that couched self-loathing in supremely catchy hooks. Their next full-length, The Curse of Public Opinion, out today, continues to push that feeling forward, soundtracking anxiety, disappointment, and endless frustration through a mix of tuneful, hard-hitting rock.
“A lot of bands make music about feeling bad, but they’re so dialed-in,” vocalist Kevin Hart says. “I think our message is a little more messy but a lot more human. At the end of the day, I’m kind of a quiet, angry guy. I don’t explode; I implode. When it comes to the songs, I don’t try to stop all that from coming through — people hear the music, and they go, ‘Sounds great, but how are you…’”
Read more: Spiritual Cramp: Growing up punk
Like last year’s Perpetual Motion Machine EP, Public Opinion once again teamed up with go-to producer Brett Romnes, who helped to shape their songs into something wholly anthemic. “I Pay Everyone I Still Talk To” combines a “Motion City Soundtrack hook with a Cock Sparrer lead.” “Modern Convenience” retools an older track and enlists the Movielife frontman Vinnie Caruana, who joined them onstage back in the spring. “Lucky Me” delves into Drug Church-style storytelling. At the center of it all is intense emotional heft and snarky bite that make them a band to watch.
Next up, they’ll hop on Sparta’s headlining tour, which runs throughout September. Before they do, Hart gave us a deeper look into their rowdy second album, song by song.
“Balloon Man Running”
I find intentionality to be self-rewarding. I’m certain the world does not care about my intentions nearly as much as I do, but I find it to be a reward in and of itself. When I started writing this song, the intention was “big-ass riff as the first track on the record,” and the moment it landed, I knew it was the one. I tried to do a talk-sing Damon Albarn thing for the prechorus that found its way to the cutting-room floor, and the song is better because of it. I also like long bridges with builds. Not sure where that comes from, but this song feels very Public Opinion because of it. Additionally, this has the first of two guitar solo parts that are just beyond my understanding and ability. I believe the pitch for this one was “Dewey Finn guitar solo here” when I sent the demo to KJ.
“Flowers By Irene”
This one is my attempt at Public Opinion writing the shortest song possible without it feeling like a cover. I really love American Nightmare and the Suicide File, and it feels evident here. The second verse starts with a yelling spot, and Brett Romnes had me do a vocal take screaming into a megaphone in the drum room. I’m not positive if that made it onto the final version, but it was a cool chance to try wild shit and see what sticks.
“I Pay Everyone I Still Talk To”
This is the thing that I think is the song. I’ve thought that before and been wrong, but I’m still convinced that this one will stand the test of time. This one has a handful of moving parts from the demo version — the very clean final version harmonic guitar layer in the verse is pretty much just a layer of noise on the original. It was some real “We’ll fix that later on” type stuff. The song title reads as either funny or sad, and either way you’re correct. The major focus on this one was lack of kinship and lack of interest in correcting it. Happens! Either way, I like that the instrumental chorus at the end feels like a Motion City Soundtrack hook with a Cock Sparrer lead on it.
“Lucky Me”
We played with our friends Rex Tycoon in Richmond a couple years back, and there was a bass part that was so good I told them, “Hey, I’m taking that. Cool?” This song started with that. I wanted to do a bass-heavy, low-register, call-and-response thing in the verse with a heavy rock chorus, and I think I succeeded. I really like how Seb from Viagra Boys and Pat from Self Defense Family/Drug Church will act as storytellers, and I wanted to give it a shot. The line between me and the subject of the track gets blurry, but I’m still thrilled with how it turned out. Listen to Rex Tycoon.
“Closed Captioning”
This was the first song we wrote for the record. The intent was to do sparse verse with a chorus that makes you want to pogo. Single note guitar with the second guitar ringing out and feeding back felt very post-punk without seeming like we were stealing an identity. I had wanted to transpose this Pulp guitar part as a bass part for a while, and we managed to use it on the second verse, along with a very End Of A Year guitar lead. The plan was to have both side A and side B of the LP start and finish, so this was intended to feel almost like an album closer.
“When Kevin Gets Free”
This was a concerning song from the jump. There are a couple of bands we get compared to all the time, and this felt like it could accidentally slip into “cover band” territory if we didn’t do our own thing on it. It’s always funny hearing people’s interpretation of your music, but this one was especially funny. I was thinking we should cut it, and I know a bunch of people who think this is the best thing we’ve ever done. Strange. The name is a play on a song from our demo, titled “When Kevin Gets Stuck,” and is meant to be a song about redemption while still being “Fuck you, man.”
“Enhancement Talent”
A pretty sensitive lyrical topic on a song titled after a pro wrestling term. Typical PO. Lyrically, I’ve been ringing the bell of relationships you can’t rebuild because the other party has passed for a couple records now. Eventually I’ll work through it, but for now it’s making its way into art I create. I’ve been told this one feels like a bit of a departure as it’s more Seaweed than The Hives with arpeggiated guitars and less shouting, but it still feels in line with the record to me. I also managed to get both a LOST reference and Counting Crows reference into the lyrics without betraying what the track is about.
“Epitaph”
The whole intention here was to try Interpol. It’s just one guitar playing a note on a loop. The original demo had bass for the main part instead of piano, and then me singing something deeply upsetting over the top. We opted for piano in the studio instead, with both Sebastian and KJ adding their own flavor to the final version. I’m still pretty nervous for the world to hear this — I’ve asked a couple folks to skip it when they’ve listened to the early versions — but after tracking, I was glad we decided to keep it.
“Modern Convenience”
This song was the first time I thought “I wrote the one.” It’s from our first 12-inch on Convulse Records, and while I do think the song is good, I also think the band wasn’t very good yet. I couldn’t sing, the tempo was too slow, generally lackluster performances all around despite Phil Odom and Ian Shelton (who produced the record) making it the best that they could. The song seems to go over well live, and I wanted to breathe new life into it, so I suggested rerecording it for this album but having someone else sing the second verse to give it a new spin. I have loved I Am The Avalanche and the Movielife for a long time, and Vin couldn’t have been cooler about tracking it and adding his own flair.
“The Curse of Public Opinion”
To circle back to the beginning of this piece where I talked about intentionality, I believe the closing track feeling like a closing track is just as important as the opening track doing its job. I’m sure part of this was inspired by my love for Crime In Stereo, who have always landed their records with a great finale. The piano part (previously bass part) from “Epitaph” is the same as the verse guitar part on this song as a way to tie it all together. The chorus was my attempt at Big Star or maybe just classic rock in general. It was funny having to say the sentence, “I know we do the Oi two-note thing like five times on this record, but what if it was piano?” while we were layering the doubled final chorus. I also got to do a low and buried Davey von Bohlen on “A Praise Chorus”-type thing where I use lyrics from one of my favorite bands as an additional layer. Some stuff is for the audience. Some stuff is for me.
