The surprisingly hard-hitting single “Still A Gorilla” previews the band’s first album in 12 years, Face Full of Cake
Spin Doctors were a Nineties anomaly — a jam band from the same New York City scene as Blues Traveler who sold over 10 million copies of their 1991 debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, largely thanks to two witty, power-poppy singles: “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princes.”
Thirty-three years later, with their original lineup mostly intact (save for the absence of bassist Mark White), they’ve announced their first album in 12 years, Face Full of Cake, and released a new single, “Still A Gorilla.”
The band claims to have taken some inspiration from Robyn’s 2005 banger “Konichiwa Bitches” for the song, but that purported influence is entirely imperceptible. But the track is still genuinely surprising and fun, led by a marauding fuzzed-out riff that might have helped them steer out of their mid-Nineties commercial decline if they’d hauled it out sooner. Even more unexpectedly, frontman Chris Barron‘s half-spoken vocals end up sounding an awful lot like David Lee Roth.
“Spin Doctors fans are going to be knocked out by this new record,” Barron promises in a statement. “It’s got that vintage Spin Doctors sound of ear candy and denser material that harkens back to Pocket Full Of Kryptonite but with years of experience under our belts.”
The band will play an album release party at Brooklyn, New York’s Brooklyn Bowl on April 12, and also announced a few more tour dates this year so far.
Spin Doctors Tour Dates
February 22 — Saint Paul, MN @ Rock From The Heart
March 1 — Suquamish, WA @ Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort
April 12 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl
May 25 — Allston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival
June 5 — Park City, UT @ Egyptian Theatre
June 6 — Park City, UT @ Egyptian Theatre
June 7 — Park City, UT @ Egyptian Theatre
June 8 — Park City, UT @ Egyptian Theatre