Between their debut album, False Flag, and the release of their upcoming album, Nervous Laughter, LA-based trio Crisis Actor have kept busy touring from 2022 to 2024. One listen to “Nervous Laughter,” their sophomore effort’s lead single, and it’s clear they’ve learned what gets people going based on how the three have perfected post-punk to a science. The drums at the song’s start, moving at the pace of a slasher villain stabbing their knife, set the expectations high.
But Crisis Actor never struggles to reach those expectations, unleashing a straight rager defined by its razor-sharp guitar and bass, which guides “Nervous Laughter” forward. The vocals, reminiscent of frontmen from the 70s and 80s, fall in line with the rest of the track’s inspired sound, albeit updated for the modern day, thanks to pristine production quality from the band. Above all else, their punk energy, a strong aspect of what makes Crisis Actor live up to the intensity of the first half of their name, feels fresh in an already crowded scene, distinguishing the trio ahead of what’s likely to be an even harder follow-up.
“The song came out of looking at the world around us and watching ever more chaotically absurd events occur both abroad and at home,” shared guitarist Tony Knox. “We were consistently floored at how bad, yet ridiculous, things would keep becoming. It was hard not to laugh, and that laughter was always an expression both of anxiety and bewildered amusement. These mixed emotions and ever-increasing paranoia inspired us to each write our own unique expression of it, juxtaposed against and in response to the other in the arrangement of the song. All that with a healthy dose of rage and you have ‘Nervous Laughter.'”
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For more new songs we’re loving, check out our Best New Songs of the Month playlist or Best New Music editorials.
Listen to “Nervous Laughter” the new single from Crisis Actor below!
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