Formed in Los Angeles, Teenage Wrist fuse alt-rock with shoegaze textures, power-pop hooks, and the emotional urgency of early-’90s emo, moving fluidly between forceful drive and delicate detail. Epitaph became their home after the band signed, leading to the 2018 release of their intense first album, Chrome Neon Jesus. Ahead of the 2021 follow-up Earth Is a Black Hole, the group underwent a major roster change that shaped its contrasting moods of unease and optimism; by the time they issued the assuredly eclectic Still Love in 2023, they had settled into a distinctive identity that incorporated contributions from 311 and Softcult members.
The project began in 2015 when Kamtin Karimi Mohager of Chain Gang of 1974 joined forces with Marshall Gallagher of Swing Hero. Drawing from the Cure and Smashing Pumpkins, Mohager, Gallagher, and drummer Anthony Salazar put out their first EP, Dazed, that May. While each participant continued working on separate endeavors, the single “Stoned, Alone” surfaced in 2016. Epitaph announced the signing in November 2017 and introduced the band’s initial label release, “Swallow,” shortly afterward. March 2018 brought the full-length Chrome Neon Jesus, helmed by producer Carlos de la Garza of Paramore and Jimmy Eat World fame; the record delivered a brooding surge of weighty grunge and layered shoegaze that underscored Teenage Wrist’s deep ties to 1990s rock.
Mohager exited in 2019, leaving Gallagher and Salazar to operate as a duo with Gallagher stepping forward as lead vocalist for the transitional Earth Is a Black Hole. That album bridged the debut’s somber atmosphere with brighter, more hopeful passages. For their next effort the pair withdrew to a rented Joshua Tree house, writing and tracking in the living room without outside assistance. The resulting 2023 album Still Love broadened their range by folding in additional pop elements and fresh sonic colors while featuring guest appearances from S.A. Martinez of 311 and the Canadian grunge duo Softcult.
