Mike Petruccelli may not be a Chicago native, but over the past few years he’s established himself as an integral part of the city’s punk scene. While playing in both Rapids and Tens, he carved out time to put together an EP under his own name, Don’t Make This Weird. A true labor of love, Don’t Make This Weird is the product of three years’ worth of writing and recording, all squeezed in between obligations to his other projects. The A.V. Club is streaming all of Don’t Make This Weird ahead of its release on January 29; the EP sees Petruccelli shifting between opposite ends of the sonic spectrum, at times recalling Death Cab For Cutie (“Life Near The Loud Couch”) and then jumping right into anthemic pop-punk (“LIMBO!”). It’s a trait that could make the EP sound muddled, but Petruccelli’s war on weirdness makes everything fit together in one cohesive package.
Pre-orders for Don’t Make This Weird are available now.