For over a decade, James Hanna was a sonic force in Asobi Seksu, but where his former band combined ethereal dream pop with noisier guitar elements, his newest project Youth Worship has committed much further to guitar mayhem. In fact, James got his first cheapo fuzz pedal for Christmas when he was 12 and hasn’t looked back yet. The upcoming album Youth Worship, out June 30th on Self Harm Records, is an unabashed, hit-you-in-the-face celebration of guitar rock. “When I was a kid if I read that an album had fuzz guitars on it, I had to buy it”, he happily recalls. “When I first saw the word ‘fuzz’ I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew I had to have it and make it”. The new single “Eternal Scene,” featuring guitarist Wata from ex-Asobi Seksu tour mates Boris on guitars and back-up vocals, premiered today and can be found below.

After playing some big, maximum volume riffs and practicing some screaming for his own gratification, Hanna realized that he had some great songs on his hands and called on long time friends Will Donnelly and Larry Gorman, who had also been the drummer in Asobi Seksu, to more fully realize the new material. While their first collection of songs, released as a cassette EP was an unashamed ode to their early 90’s alterna-rock influences, the band’s sound on Youth Worship has further evolved into an amalgamation of varying sounds and styles, with loud guitars being the common denominator. From the short circuited Black Flag-isms of “Euphoric Recall”, the blissful noisepop of “Less”, or the Sonic Youth-leaning noise breakdown of “Spinners”, Youth Worship’s only credo is to have unapologetic, ridiculous fun and not over analyze any of it.