Song of the Day: The Coathangers - Make It Right

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Make It Right” by The Coathangers from their 2016 album, Nosebleed Weekend, on Suicide Squeeze.

The Coathangers - Make It Right (MP3)

The Atlanta garage outfit The Coathangers have now spent a decade as a consistently fiery punk band with a charming penchant for irreverence. Formed by Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Meredith Franco (bass/vocals), Candice Jones (keys/vocals), and Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals) in 2006, the band's lack of experience playing their instruments didn't hold them back from playing Atlanta house parties and quickly becoming a staple in The Gate City. Their self-titled debut saw a release the following year on local label Die Slaughterhouse and by the time their second album, Scramble, saw release in 2009, the band had begun regularly touring outside of the South. Jones left the group in 2013 and the remaining members soldiered on as a trio, most recently releasing their fifth album, Nosebleed Weekend. The group's knack for gritty melody remains intact on "Make It Right", a tightly-strung number that makes the most of its barely-not-falling-off-the-rails pace. Kugel's shredding vocal performance link up with some well-timed hand claps in the chorus for a one-two punch of the stuff most surf-beat songs wish they had. It hardly takes all of the song's three minutes to realize that "Make It Right" is nothing short of vintage Coathangers – taught, catchy, and utterly fearless.

The Coathangers will return to Seattle on August 25th to headline Neumos as part of the Suicide Squeeze 20th Anniversary celebrations. Get tickets and more info on that 21+ show here, keep up with the band at their website and Facebook, and watch the video for the 2015 track "Watch Your Back".