A Q&A with The Lowcocks

Raw Detroit punk with hooks…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Our newest song, ‘The Forgotten’ was released May 20th; it’s the third single released from our upcoming EP, and we’re so excited about it!
The song centres immigration detention centres, especially at the southern US border, and the experience of children who arrive without the safety of relatives. The experimental, non-traditional structure and discordant, brutal vocal lines reflect the incense subject matter, intentionally unsettling listeners without losing our signature energy – one of the things we’re known for.
‘The Forgotten’ has been in the works for a while, and really started fermenting during Trump’s first term, when there started to be news coverage of people crossing the US/Mexico border. The idea of anyone being in a cage – but especially kids – was infuriating and heartbreaking, and Annie couldn’t help but make it into a song.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
It’s always a struggle to actually get songs recorded in a way that works for us, since our live performances are what we’re known for and what we have tons of fun with…where mistakes don’t quite matter as much as energy does. Getting over our perfectionism, but making sure we’ve got the track down right, is a challenge for anyone who plays music…but of course, those challenges pale in comparison to trying to name the EP. Which was named after a song because we couldn’t agree on a separate name. 😀 These are the real, visceral struggles we had to face, and such battles brought all of us much closer together. We didn’t set out to be inspirations, but we humbly accept the task.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do enjoy most about producing your own material?
We’ve recorded at a few different studios, and now Ryan has a recording studio set up in his basement, where we did our most recent EP. Being our own producers gives us control over the timeframe as well as a bit less stress around recording times, since we’re not paying a studio by the hour. Our fate is in our hands, we can make what we want and ensure we are staying true to our values and intent, without worries about being under deadline or having contractual obligations to fulfil.
Ryan also mixed this track, as well as the other three tracks from this upcoming EP, and said he enjoyed the chance to stretch his creative muscles and get into the guts of how recording works.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
That The Lowcocks are awesome and I want to buy all their music. 😀 That we can get mad and have fun at the same time. That punk isn’t dead (but we can kill it).
Fans can expect love, anger, and reckless abandon that channels and challenges the punk genre. The frontwoman’s guttural screech impeccably contrasting with tight melodies in a blast of sound you won’t be able to stop singing. Infectious, political, and just plain fun – with hooks to match, like the best mosh pit you’ve ever been in with some cheeky lyrics to make you smile and scream along.
What makes The Lowcocks different? We’re not chasing trends—we’re chasing truth. Our songs dig into the absurd, the emotional, and the everyday with humour and honesty. You’ll leave our shows sweating, laughing, maybe a little bruised, and definitely wanting more. Experiencing is believing!

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
We are having so much fun working on our newest EP and our new album; the four of us have really gelled and are writing more interesting music, experimenting with different melodic structures and lyrics, and making sure we’re being goofy enough in the process. Lots of times Ryan or Nick will come to practice with a riff or song idea, and we all flesh it out and mess with structure together. Let’s just say we have a lot of whiteboards in our practice space.
Sometimes there’s events that happen in the world and you pick up your guitar and write about it, sometimes it’s a riff Ryan can’t get out of his head, or a tune Nick’s been fiddling around with, and we build a song around that…a lot of times there’s something going on emotionally or personally and Annie will say “write me something angry so I can scream about this” and the train starts rolling.
A lot of our songs have a political bent, but we have songs about Annie’s scumbag ex-husband, kids in foster care, heartbreak, losing your virginity, police surveillance, fighting with your parents – there isn’t one theme we stick to, more whatever fits with the music and what we’re passionate about finds its way into the lyrics.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
All of us are big punk rock fans of course, and I know everyone says this, but our band’s musical influences are all over the map, which makes our music interesting and keeps us from getting stale. Nick, our bassist, is obsessed with funk, sludge, and (somehow?) also The Viagra Boys and Devo; Zac is mostly into folk punk and noise; Ryan brings in rockabilly/psychobilly, soul, and Motown; Anne tends toward 60s revolution rock and blues, 80s hardcore, 90s riot girrrrl, and 2010s metalcore.
As a band, we tend to bring in all of our favourites to our music; we probably have most musical similarities with bands like Amyl and the Sniffers, A Global Threat, The Distillers, and The Suicide Machines.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
We want to come out and play as much as we can, and it’s so cool to meet other people who are as passionate as we are about music and punk and community – so I don’t think there’s a place we wouldn’t consider if we could afford to travel there.
We would love to be part of Punk Rock Bowling, Rebellion Fest, or anything that Nacho Corrupted puts together in LA (what’s up buddy!) – but we’re not shy. Not to be all Tinder about it – but just ask. 😉

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
We probably all have different thoughts on this; our favourite song to end a set is ‘Birth Control’ which was originally written by our bassist, Nick. It’s a total blast, full speed ahead, and the lyrics skewer incels and misogynist culture, so the audience loves it. I mean, don’t you want to scream “not all men? yes, all men!” with a crowd? Of course you do!

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
Our current goal is becoming world famous superstars, obviously. We can’t wait to be best friends with Ke$ha, Kendrick, and Sabrina, jet setting around the world to the next glitterati gathering, sipping champagne and looking down on the little people.
No, not really. We want to keep making cool music, meeting new people, and getting a chance to travel around and be a real part of our community.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Follow us on socials (@TheLowcocks) on all platforms – it truly does make a difference. Follow and listen on Spotify. Buy merch so we can afford to keep recording and keep making cool sh*t. 😀 Come out to a show – or reach out to us about playing a show in your city!
We have made so many friends already and we can’t wait to meet you and make more!

Find out more about The Lowcocks at www.TheLowcocks.com