Every now and then some masquerading fan of music offers up the out-of-touch lament that “rock is dead.” After giving them the biggest eye roll you can muster, be sure to point them in the direction of unruly rockers Jagged Baptist Club and their two blistering albums – two potent examples of rock in its prime. Comprised of musicians Blake Stokes, Morgan Ponder, Josh Boyd, and CJ Ramsey — the Los Angeles four-piece released their debut album Reptile Super Show back in 2019 and have been unstoppable ever since. The album helped baptize fans in the band’s love of dissonant and booming sonics with songs like the unhinged “Running on Synthetic” and the guitar-shrieking, stroller that serves as the title track.
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Jagged Baptist Club returned quickly the next year with a rabid new project: Basking in the Heat Lamp, a live album recorded while performing in Los Angeles. While there can be no substitute for the band’s exuberant punk energies that are unleashed in person, the live album helped facilitate the hypnotic zeal that filled the room when they were raging onstage. In hindsight, the release of Basking in the Heat Lamp just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic helped keep the band and their growing following connected as concerts disappeared.
But even in the midsts of quarantine Jagged Baptist Club continued to rock. After releasing two stellar singles in the form of the agitated punk stomper “Chop X8” and the fidgeting “Haunted by the Night,” the band released their sophomore entry with Temptation Death House. Thus, consolidating their ravenous fervor into a collection of lyrically potent and sonically thundering songs – the kind you can wail, scream, and flail your body to with complete abandon.
Year-after-year, Jagged Baptist Club has continued to supply fans with their transfixing and ferocious rock. If you’re not yet keeping your eyes peeled for the band’s next project, you should be!
Visit Jagged Baptist Club’s website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements. Follow them on Spotify.
