Biography
The Seattle quartet Tacocat fuses punk’s D.I.Y. spirit with lyrics that mix sharp humor and keen observation, addressing everything from everyday personal matters to wider cultural and political currents. Initially self-releasing material, the group later joined hometown imprint Hardly Art, where the 2014 album NVM marked their breakthrough. Their early raw punk edge gradually gave way to greater polish, incorporating 80’s pop and 90’s grunge textures that surfaced fully on the 2019 release This Mess is a Place.
Drummer Lelah Maupin and guitarist Eric Randall first crossed paths as coworkers at a Safeway in Longview, Washington. After both moved to Seattle they connected with bassist Bree McKenna and singer Emily Nokes. United by a shared passion for ’90s punk, indie, and riot grrrl sounds, the four began performing at local house parties and issuing singles. Late 2010 brought their debut full-length Shame Spiral, a brisk 13-track set of hook-driven, pop-culture-steeped punk. The Woman’s Day EP appeared in 2011, and the next year they joined Sub Pop’s Hardly Art roster for the second EP Take Me to Your Dealer. Throughout this period Tacocat kept issuing D.I.Y. singles through their own site and Bandcamp. McKenna also played in Childbirth alongside Pony Time’s Stacy Peck and Chastity Belt’s Julia Shapiro, whose first album emerged in 2013.
Tacocat’s second album and Hardly Art debut, NVM, was helmed by Seattle rock veteran Conrad Uno and surfaced in February 2014. Following Childbirth’s 2015 set Women’s Rights, the quartet returned with the Erik Blood-produced Lost Time in early 2016. They supported the record on tour and appeared at Coachella in 2017 while beginning work on new material shaped by an unsettled political atmosphere. Blood returned to the helm for 2019’s This Mess is a Place, an optimistic, buoyant pop album layered with punk guitars and Go-Go’s-style harmonies.
Drummer Lelah Maupin and guitarist Eric Randall first crossed paths as coworkers at a Safeway in Longview, Washington. After both moved to Seattle they connected with bassist Bree McKenna and singer Emily Nokes. United by a shared passion for ’90s punk, indie, and riot grrrl sounds, the four began performing at local house parties and issuing singles. Late 2010 brought their debut full-length Shame Spiral, a brisk 13-track set of hook-driven, pop-culture-steeped punk. The Woman’s Day EP appeared in 2011, and the next year they joined Sub Pop’s Hardly Art roster for the second EP Take Me to Your Dealer. Throughout this period Tacocat kept issuing D.I.Y. singles through their own site and Bandcamp. McKenna also played in Childbirth alongside Pony Time’s Stacy Peck and Chastity Belt’s Julia Shapiro, whose first album emerged in 2013.
Tacocat’s second album and Hardly Art debut, NVM, was helmed by Seattle rock veteran Conrad Uno and surfaced in February 2014. Following Childbirth’s 2015 set Women’s Rights, the quartet returned with the Erik Blood-produced Lost Time in early 2016. They supported the record on tour and appeared at Coachella in 2017 while beginning work on new material shaped by an unsettled political atmosphere. Blood returned to the helm for 2019’s This Mess is a Place, an optimistic, buoyant pop album layered with punk guitars and Go-Go’s-style harmonies.
Albums
Singles
