Dance Hall Crashers announced ‘Purr’ deluxe edition and shared lost single ‘Ambush’

Dance Hall Crashers are taking a look back at their seminal album “Purr”. Originally released in 1999, “Purr” was produced by NOFX’s Fat Mike, fusing the band’s ska-punk roots while greatly expanding both the power of their guitar-driven sound and the sophistication of pop songwriting.

To celebrate the re-release of the record, the band are releasing seven previously unreleased songs –  the first of which, “Ambush” – is out now. Four of the songs were previously recorded before the band went on hiatus, and then lost and forgotten about, before being found again this year. Three others were formerly only ever released in Japan.

“The fact that we had four songs sitting around for two decades that we lost, forgot about, and then found again is pretty on brand for DHC. Digging up this music time capsule was a pretty mind-bending and unexpected gift, so of course we wanted to share our ’new’ old songs with our fans.”

“With finding these lost songs, we felt like the new deluxe release deserved new art as well, so we asked our friend Sam Grinberg, who has done amazing art and animation for us, for his take on it.”

More than a quarter-century later, these songs will finally see the light of day. For the fans who have loved the band since the 1990s, the release reconnects the years that have passed. And for a new generation, it offers the PURR-fect introduction to the one of a kind band Dance Hall Crashers.

Pre-order ‘Purr‘ deluxe here.

“Purr” Deluxe Tracklisting: 

1. Beverly Kills
2. Setting Sun
3. The Real You
4. Everything To Lose
5. Just Like That
6. Remember To Breathe
7. No Heart
8. Please Don’t Look Away
9. Make Her Purr
10. Do You Think You’re Beautiful
11. Nothing Left To Say
12. Won’t Be The Same
13. Cat Fight
14. Sick As A Bat
15. Cricket
16. Ambush
17. Don’t Call
18. Unremembering
19. Record Collector

About the album artwork: Sam Grinberg is a cartoonist from the woodsy suburbs of New Jersey, now based in Los Angeles. He has worked with The Simpsons, Amoeba Music, The Academy Museum, Adult Swim, Oni Press, Live Nation, and more. His newest comic, Scumburbia, is on sale now at comic shops across the country.

An outgrowth of the legendary Operation Ivy, the Berkeley, California-based ska-punk outfit Dance Hall Crashers was briefly led by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, Op Ivy alumni who later reunited in Rancid. Both left within weeks of the Crashers‘ 1989 formation, but the group continued on, now led by vocalist Elyse Rogers and guitarist Jason Hammon; a series of other lineup changes followed, most notably the addition of second vocalist Karina Denike joining in 1990. Dance Hall Crashers disbanded soon after, bowing to pressure from fans to play a reunion gig in 1992; the response to their performance was so positive that they immediately reformed on a permanent basis, settling on a lineup of Rogers and Denike on vocals, Hammon on guitar, his brother Gavin on drums, guitarist Scott Goodell and bassist Mikey Weiss. The very first group signed to MCA‘s new 510 division, they issued their debut LP Lockjaw in 1995. A compilation of early singles, The Old Record, followed in 1996 before they resurfaced a year later with their second studio album, Honey I’m Homely. A steady stream of releases followed, including 1998’s Blue Plate Special EP, the 1999 studio effort Purr, and 2000’s The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love.