Portland's MELT have given us Black Gold, Pick a Fight, with news of the Halfshell Records release Sour Fruit arriving June 30; the group maintains the time-tested tradition of thrashing scuzz elevated to new levels of rambunctious catharsis and highly caffeinated exhilaration. Presenting the grand debut of the Castle Sharon production visual from Nicholas Francis and Alex Hartwig for "Catch Me"; MELT invites you to a privy gig full of smoke machines, shining stage lights, chic DIY styles and an infectious sound to serve as the soundtrack your life. The untethered aura of the PNW is unleashed in a feast of sounds and visuals that places you in the audience to witness the group in their most primal mode of upping the energetic ante to new towering heights of sound (fit for the hippest dives or the dankest saloons).

Enter Portland's own The Liquor Store that serves as the venue of choice for MELT's vibrant exhibition of the "Catch Me" in all its illustrious glory. In true performance form, the quartet sports their fashionable (and delightfully eccentric best) while bathed under an array of flashing blue and red stage lamp illuminations. Devil may care attitudes, coupled with chants of I don't care, are met with ripping guitar squalls that shriek and wail with a passion loud enough to wake the walls of the Pacific Northwest's founding forebears of anarchist and angst-core arts. From the dissolving animated MELT logo (modeled craftily after the vintage music television insignia), you are brought to the front of the stage to shout and sing along with the group that extols the virtues of imbibing by the spirit of electrically amplified joie de vivre. The rabble-rouser aesthetic of the ancients shines brightly through the band as MELT keeps the hits kicking, the slacker steez tenets intact and the attitudes lively with the message that the head-banging lifestyle carries forward into the gates of tomorrow's dawn.

We talked to Jeff Schultz and the band about the making of the new album Sour Fruit and the behind the scenes scoop on creating the visuals for “Catch Me”:

Jeff Schultz

We were talking to our good friend Cameron Spies for a long time about recording and co-producing a record with us. When we finally pulled the trigger and finished tracking the basic skeleton on everything, I had prior tour engagements and went to tour manage The Shivas and Guantanamo Baywatch. That set the process back months with time management and finances. We originally came to Cam with 18 songs and we pulled the trigger on 12 in the end; a few were added and removed through the process. The title track “Sour Fruit” went through the most post production writing. It started as a shuffle and we landed on a straight forward no frills approach. Our former bass player Ted Parker is featured on half of the tracks on the record.

MELT

As far as “Catch Me” goes; We got in touch with the owner of one of our favorite venues The Liquor Store and Ray Morone basically gave us the keys to the venue. So we made an event online for Jeff’s birthday in January. We told everyone that wanted to be a part of it to show up wearing colors and wigs and whatever they felt fun wearing. Had a friend (Ezra) come DJ the whole shebang. Lots of footage didn’t make the cut, wish we could’ve got more into it. Jeff has a fresh black eye and scab on his face from a nasty fall from the week before at a wedding reception In Virginia.

MELT’s new album Sour Fruit will be available June 30 via Halfshell Records.