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“A video isn’t just a promotional tool — it’s a means for bands like Hayley and the Crushers to show the world who they are. If you stumbled upon this clip, you would immediately understand what it means to exist in the Crusherverse. Like the song itself, the ‘Taboo’ video is captivating, wonderfully weird, and a whole lot of fun. It also allows the Crushers to celebrate their new home base of Detroit.” – Lord Rutledge, Faster and Louder
“Helmed by husband-and-wife team guitarist Hayley Crusher Cain and bass player Dr. Cain ESQ, the California power trio is guided by sonic contradiction: 60s girl group sensibilities meet grinding rock n roll heat; shimmering radio-ready melodies retain an endearingly quirky vibe.” – Spill Magazine
“The naked embodiment of power pop punk!” – Josie Cotton
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Hayley and the Crushers “Broken Window”
Link/Embed: https://youtu.be/HF5jEWyPKbw
MAY 30, 2023 (Detroit, MI) — “You can’t do it all by yourself, as much as you might want to,” admits frontwoman/guitarist Hayley Cain of melodic punk band Hayley and the Crushers. This truth is laid bare in “Broken Window,” the band’s turbulent new single/lyric video out today. A standout track off Modern Adult Kicks, released on Kitten Robot Records last year, the lyrics explore Cain’s own codependent tendencies: “This song is about the feeling that we need people in our lives to act or feel a certain way so that we can be OK.”
“I was thinking of that classic kid’s game Operation when writing ‘Broken Window.’ It felt like I was operating on someone I loved, but they weren’t a willing participant for the surgery,” Cain explains. “There I was, trying to save them from themselves, their own vices. You can guess how that turned out.” Filmed on Detroit’s Jetsons-esque People Mover transit system, the result is a one-sided conversation about relationships—and a one-woman train ride that ends exactly where it started: with the desire to control the uncontrollable.
Hayley and the Crushers
Photo credit: Thomas Ignatius |
| “Broken Window” echoes the more sophisticated tone of the band’s 2022 album, Modern Adult Kicks. Known for sugary pop-rock earworms, the California-turned-Motor City troupe took a detour through more serious material during the 2020/2021 writing and recording process—with surprisingly rocking results. Like the album itself, “Broken Window” feels more like the sweet release of dancing freely in front of the mirror than simple navel-gazing. As with everything the Crushers do, there is an element of retro-futurism, love of classic pop radio and pretty-in-punk attitude.
Released by LA-based label Kitten Robot Records, owned by iconic New Wave artist Josie Cotton, the song and album was produced by Paul Roessler of Screamers and 45 Grave fame. Roessler, who’s worked with the likes of TSOL, Nina Hagan, and Richie Ramone, can be heard on the keys. Filmed on iPhone by bassist Dr. Cain ESQ, the video sums up Cain’s feelings backed by a powerful blast of distortion: “I’ve diagnosed the problem / I can’t cut it out / do you really think I can do this by myself?”
“Let this song be a warning to codependents everywhere: You can’t do it all by yourself,” Cain adds. “Best to look at why you’re so fixated on someone else’s problem and start there.”
Splitting their time between San Luis Obispo, CA and Detroit, MI, Hayley and the Crushers are poised to embark on a Fall 2023 tour that continues the (in real life) support of Modern Adult Kicks.
What the Press Is Saying:
“There’s a palpable temptation for me to label ‘She Drives,’ plus Hayley and the Crushers, a throwback to ’90s rockers like The Muffs or Sleater-Kinney, but that would imply that female-led punk-inspired rock bands with a fondness or catchy earworms don’t exist in the modern day. They absolutely do.” – Far Out Magazine
“San Luis Obispo’s Hayley & the Crushers come at you with a wallop and a wink, churning out old-school, sweet/tart power-pop while dressed like they’d found the thrift store you’ve been looking for your whole life.” – Buzz Bands LA
“Like a Sour Patch Kid, Hayley & the Crushers are unapologetically bright and fun, with a wallop of mischief.” – BUST Magazine
“… The Crushers wear their neon pink hearts on their sleeve. What you see is what you get: Sassy, cheeky, surfed out Poolside Glitter Trash.” – Maximum Rock n Roll
“The musical equivalent to bazooka bubblegum stuck to the bottom of your combat boot.”
– Melted Magazine |
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Hayley and the Crushers’ lyric video for “Broken Window” is out today. Modern Adult Kicks is available on all platforms via Kitten Robot Records. Catch the Crushers’ performing at Detroit’s Motor City Pride on Saturday, June 10 (4:30pm, Festival Stage).
Modern Adult Kicks Album Artwork
Tracklist:
- Taboo
- Cul-de-Sac
- She Drives
- Broken Window
- I Fall
- Click and Act Now!
- Lost Cause
- California Sober
- Surf of Flag (vinyl exclusive)
- No Substitute (The Shivvers cover)
- Overexposed
“Broken Window” lyrics:
I’ve been reading your horoscope lately
I’ve been checking yesterday’s news
Picking up clues and searching for answers
The code won’t crack before I do
Do you believe in broken window theory?
My chipped nails give away my story
I’ve diagnosed the problem
I can’t cut it out
Do you really think I can do this by myself?
I’ve been snooping around in your closet
I’ve been scoping all your old haunts
Uncrumpling notes I found in your pocket
Tying and trying all my old knots
Do you believe that we can change our story?
All I wanted was to be there for you
I’m drifting to sea
I did it to myself, I know it’s true
I was spinning in your arms
And now we’re just
