Following both their debut EPs, Teens in Trouble and Desert Mambas explore mental spaces and places in their autobiographical and adventurous self-titled split EP, Teens in Trouble / Desert Mambas. Created eight months after an exchange between friends Lizzie Killian of Teens in Trouble and Bailey Moses of Desert Mambas, the split is a playful yet cathartic musical project pulling from the experiences and work of both artists.

Teens in Trouble, the blazing, guitar-heavy, indie creative project of writer, guitarist, and vocalist Lizzie Killian, brings a follow-up from their debut EP released by Asian Man Records last fall. Teens in Trouble brings another emotionally-driven and self-expressive voice to one half of this EP. Just after recording Teens in Trouble’s debut full-length, Killian messaged Moses about co-writing a song together to which they responded by suggesting recording a split EP, “then one thing led to another, and here we are eight months later!” shared Killian.

The playful and in-the-moment nature of this EP coming together is reflective in the Teens in Trouble side of the split, bringing songs about being present in the moment and mental health, both based on true stories/experiences of Killian. The songs of this half are both emotional and locationally specific, with one of the songs “Winter in The Trap” referring to a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina. Teens in Trouble’s tracks were recorded with friends guitarist/bassist/producer Randy Moore (Lektron, Dan Andriano & The Bygones), drummer Henry Chadwick, and guitarist Mike Huguenor (Jeff Rosenstock) at District Recording in San Jose.

Desert Mambas, the project of Los Angeles-based, Arizona-raised Foxx Bodies guitarist Bailey Moses, once again provides a refreshing voice through sun-drenched melodies with country and roots influences bringing in a biographical approach to their half of the EP. Following their debut EP, …But it’s a Dry Heat, a warm and breezy ode to trans joy that was released earlier this summer under Kill Rock Stars, Moses continues to dive further into themes of identity and personal experience while also being able to find a space for previous projects. “For part of this project I revisited some older ideas sonically,” shared Moses. “The song ‘Notes from Chicago’ was written a long time ago, and I’ve always liked it but didn’t know where it fit. Including it in this EP feels like finally getting to play with something that can be its own thing.”

This fuzzed-out, personal, dreamy collection of songs is being released by the artist’s respective labels – digitally through Kill Rock Stars and on vinyl through Asian Man Records on Friday, November 17. Pre-orders for vinyl are now open. Asian Man Records’ store has a green vinyl variant, Desert Mambas’ Bandcamp has red, Teens in Trouble’s Bandcamp has blue, and the KRS site has black. The digital EP can also be pre-ordered on Bandcamp and pre-saved on major streaming platforms.

US West Coast Tour

12/6 – Long Beach, CA @ Alex’s Bar
12/7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
12/9 – San Francisco, CA @ TBA
12/10 – Portland, OR @ The Fixin’ To
12/12 – Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge