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Buffalo's Super American blur the lines between absurdism and existentialism in their latest album, Gangster of Love, produced by Sam Guaiana. With its swirling '90s melodicism, high-energy riffs, and heartfelt emo elements into a wry, smirking rock sound, the duo delivers a stellar follow-up to their 2021 effort SUP and 2018's Tequila Sunrise.

Having fled Buffalo for Los Angeles, the duo has pushed the bounds of their songwriting creating real magic with a record that feels equal parts familiar and fresh. Overall, this new LP is a remarkable evolution, seeing the band experiment with new sounds and continue to push the envelope on what it means to be a pop-punk band. 

The Noise had the opportunity to chat with Super American members Matt Cox and Patrick Feeley about the new 13-track release, their upcoming tour, and the nostalgia of roller rinks.

It's been a minute since your last record SUP. When did it feel like it was time to start releasing music again, and what was it like in those early stages? Tell me a little bit about the beginning stages of Gangster of Love.

MATT COX: Well, SUP followed a similar path. It took a long time to come out, and a lot of those songs are old. We started working on music right away but slowly. I would say that way, there was almost an urge right away once that came out.

PATRICK FEELEY: Yeah, and the album is probably a combo of a few songs we wrote immediately after SUP, right? Then, there are some much newer songs, including one written before SUP. So, we're always making stuff and sending each other ideas, getting together, and making things. When we wanted to make an album last winter when Matt – you were in East Aurora, we started grinding in earnest a few times a week, getting together and just trying to get something cohesive. We just really felt that we couldn't wait any longer. So we went to our friend and manager Tom and said, "Let's make something happen here as soon as possible." Then we DM’d Sam Guaiana, who ended up producing the album, and he was super easy to work with. There are a lot of moving parts in the music industry, so we just hit him up, and he said yes.

From there, did everything begin to fall into place, or were there a few bumps in the road that you had to navigate and work through?

MC: I don't know if there [were] too many bumps in the road, but this time, we did try a lot more. Like, resources and things of that nature. We definitely didn't leave as many stones unturned, so any burden we had came from having more options to choose from. But yeah, we tried everything and ultimately trusted ourselves more than anything. So, once that was the direction we were going, we wanted to get going as soon as possible. Because, like Pat said, we wrote in the winter, recorded it last May, and it's still not out. Life is still going on, so it's wild, and it takes so long for the music to come out.

PF: We had a bunch of ideas, and then we tried writing some songs with other people to see how it felt and have a new experience, like with our friend Aaron. It was a super awesome experience, but we wanted to make sure that all the ideas we had, which we've worked on for years, didn't get lost. So that's when we decided to go ahead with these songs and make it happen this way.

Is there any one particular song that you're just kind of like, "Damn, I cannot believe we're releasing this? I'm so excited for this to come out so people can listen."

PF: That's a good question.

If it helps to choose, I loved "MOMMA, I'M GONNA BE A STAR" and "Altima Song," but I think my favorite was probably "Who's Gonna Get Me High?" 

PF: Yeah, I would say "Altima Song" is, in a sense, probably just the weirdest song that we've released. Like, there's like a fucking saxophone on it.

Yeah. I feel like it's very experimental for y'all.

PF: Yeah, and now it's like with a few of the songs, I don't know, we'll see what happens when they're out. But I would give Matt credit for always digging back through older ideas and making sure that we don't lose fun things that we feel people need to hear in terms of what we can do. I'm very much always moving on to the next thing, and sometimes it's a big flaw that I destroy old ideas, throw them out, and never release them. 

MC: So those together make an album experience because stuff was very much just a group of songs that we literally had make the tracklist and wanted to have something a little more hands-on. And then, even when we were recording, there was a chalkboard. We were staying at Sam Guaiana's apartment, he was nice enough to let us stay there for free, which was why we ended up doing it. But yeah, there was a chalkboard in there, and we would edit the tracklist and what we knew we were going to do, and then maybe we would record it a certain way or keep it in mind if it's going to be next to a certain song. So, hopefully, this album is a little more cohesive and streamlined.

Building off of the immersive-ness and intentional nature of the record, what kind of story do you feel Gangster of Love is trying to tell, and how do you hope people feel when they listen to this?

PF: From my perspective, I think with the previous album, I was going through a very anxious time in my life, which was reflected there. With this one, I wanted to make something more romantic. I don't know. I suppose that was the mood I was consciously striving for. So it's more yearning and romantic than anxious. I wanted it to feel different, but it's not like every song is romantic. It is the overall vibe, though. Yeah, yearning and just slightly hornier or something, I guess.

I agree that, in comparison, songs like "How Big Is Your Brain? and other tracks on SUP, which all came out right before or during the COVID lockdown, do reflect the anxiety and chaos we all felt during that very uncertain time. But in a way, that record made people feel like we were all less alone in our uncertainty, which I felt was really important. And now, with Gangster of Love, there's such a joy within it. Yes, it's romantic, but while listening, I felt it also touched on self-love and friendship as well.

PF: While you were speaking, it reminded me that the previous album was more about things that I was feeling. And then this one is more about things I want to feel if that makes sense.

That makes total sense.

PF: They're not necessarily all realistic or real situations, but they're more yearning for experiences you want to have or more like dreamlike situations.

Tell me more about the first single you decided to put out, "Hopefully Pitchfork Doesn't Hear This." Why did you choose to release that one first? Was that one of the ones that you wrote a long time ago? Or was this one of a newer creation?

MC: That was an older one, it was a sub demo that came out of the woodwork in the winter, but we agreed we wouldn't touch it until we got to LA so we didn't ruin it.

Do you think Pitchfork has heard it?

MC and PF: Probably not.

MC: Regarding why it's the first single, though, it's the funnest. That's not a word; technically, I don't think so. It's one of the more fun, upbeat songs to listen to that showcases something different from what we do that other artists don't. It just feels unique to our band, and we wanted to make sure that our single has that.

The music video was so funny to watch too. Seeing Matt get punched in the face, and then this red corn syrup gets everywhere--

MC: Oh, that was real.

What???

MC: No, no, you were right. It was corn syrup.

So tell me about the concept for the music video. What was the most fun or most challenging aspect of doing that shoot? Tell me more about the experience; honestly, it seemed fun!

MC: Honestly, he came up with the whole concept, put together the entire crew on the location, filmed the whole thing, provided lunch and dinner, and was great to work with. From my perspective, credit to Michael Herrick. It is mostly all of his work and his ideas and whatnot.

PF: I grew up going to the roller rink, not all the time, but it was just a very social highlight of my late elementary school lifestyle. I was excited that that ended up being the idea. Skating around with my friends, girls, and shit when I was a kid and having pop music playing was just the highest high. So even though that wasn't the music video's concept, being in there was just nostalgic and fun.

There was a roller rink in my hometown called Skate Galaxy, and the music video just brought me back; the lights, the rollerblades, and that kind of smell, you know?

MC: It's like a bowling alley vibe. All things that they don't build anymore.

Can you share any tour plans you have in the works once the album is out? How do you like to unwind or ground yourself on the road?

MC: I read somehow in the van. Pat always drives in our van, so he probably has 80-50,000 miles under his belt. I'm not kidding, but to answer your other question, I'm most excited about Denver and Austin. We're going to play South Carolina for the first time and, oh yeah, Idaho. I've always wanted to play New Orleans, but for some reason, we never do.

PF: It's going to be our first headlining tour, though—the Gangster of Love tour. People need to come; it's gonna be lit.

Who are you going on tour with?

MC: People R Ugly, Sydney Sprague, and Summerbruise.

Do you have anything you would like to say to anybody reading this interview who could be a fan or someone who just discovered you?

MC: I don't know; from my end, and thinking in an ultra general sense, I would just describe it like it's real. What you're hearing is real. There's nothing like fake about it for better or for worse, but it's just that it is all real, whatever it is that comes across with our music.

PF: I would second that. I don't have anything to add.

What do you hope for as musicians and as people? I know we're about halfway through the year, and next year will be here so soon.

PF: A million dollars! But for real, I am hopeful for summer. I hope everybody has a great summer because it's the best time of the year, at least in the Northeast, and I don't know. Everything's so fucking weird, like, generally in society. I just hope people can have fun, go out with their friends, be safe, and feel like they can have a joyous time.

MC: Yeah. I hope this album does well enough so we can make another one. I know that one will be even better. So that's what I'm hopeful for.