Ask any pop punk fan what attracts them to a band and they’ll tell you two things: a DIY ethos and fans-first attitude. These are the two pillars upon which Rare Americans have built their boundary-pushing pop punk.

When their former band, The Lunas, dissembled, front man James Priestner and guitarist Lubo Ivan didn’t have to look far for a new recruit. During a family holiday in The Caribbean, front man James uncovered a song writing chemistry with his brother, Jared. The pair returned to their home base of Vancouver with an ever-growing spate of demos, which served as the starting point for Rare Americans.

Though the Canadian upstarts cite The Strokes, Rancid, and Bad Religion among their influences, they manage to absorb the pop-rock formula without regurgitating it. The trio adopt a unique approach to the well-worn genre, opting for acoustic guitar and horns as their weapons of choice, and incorporating a love of hip-hop. Their genre-bending anthems are topped off by gang vocals from friends that were available on the days of vocal tracking, underscoring the recording process as a truly inclusive and DIY process.

“We like to write songs about the underbelly of society. I find we often have all sorts of crazy characters in our songs dealing with a multitude of different problems that life presents us all.”

 Armed with a killer sound and host of songs, Rare Americans took to the studio with a roll call of guests. Mastering the desk was producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, The Strokes), while sticksman Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, The Shins) took to the kit, and Yukki Matthews (The Shins) was enlisted for bass duties. Elsewhere, the band has attracted Brooklyn-based animator Harry Tietelman (Killer Mike of Run The Jewels) for the Cats, Dogs & Rats video.

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Website:  www.rareamericans.com