Listen to the new album and read a track-by-track breakdown by The Mendozaz!

Today we are thrilled to bring you the premiere of the new album by Toronto-based pop punk power trio The Mendozaz! The album is called Loafers and marks their third full-length to be released. Speaking about the album Jonny said,

“For our first record we wore our influences proudly on our sleeve. Then for the follow-up we moved as far away from that as we could. For number three we took whatever crazy idea came to mind and chased it down until it reached its logical conclusion. We ended up with some strange stuff: a love song to our technological overlords, an ode to a Canadian historical figure who doesn’t get nearly as much love as he deserves (despite his name), a couple exposés that are sure to upset dog-lovers and bird-lovers alike and the most infectious earworm anyone could come up with.”

We also caught up with the band to hear the stories behind the twelve tracks. Loafers will be out on June 7 via Cartridge Heart. Check out the album and track-by-track breakdown below!

Loafers Track-By-Track Breakdown

I'd Rather Be Listening To The Mendozaz

Our version of “Hey Hey We’re The Monkees”. It started out as a t-shirt slogan. Then I had the brilliant(?) idea of turning it into a song. It’s basically an exercise in the power of suggestion. Every band should have a sing-along about how great they are.

Lottery Tickets

I think everyone reaches a point where they feel like they don’t have control over their life anymore. It can be a really dire feeling. So we fantasize that we’re one bit of good fortune away from everything turning around. A lottery ticket. And the wait can be agonizing.

Pour One Out For Hot Sarah

Ultimately this song is about having expectations that are out of whack with reality. I met a girl a few years back and she was ready to settle down. But she wasn’t ready to settle. A lot of guys hit the (proverbial) chopping block by her hand over the years. I don’t think she was necessarily wrong. It’s just a risky play. A lot of people end up alone.

Lord Coxwell

If you know anything about Toronto geography and phallic imagery, this song is pretty straightforward. Also, I always wanted to have horns on one of our songs. (thanks Joel!)

Shooting Myself

This is a (mostly) light-hearted account of someone facing their own flaws. There's an acknowledgement of them surfacing, but still a refusal of owning up to them and changing for the better. The verse melody surfaced in Mike's head one day while going out for a walk, and it never went away. A day before pre-production for Loafers, he showed the rest of the band what he had and the song miraculously materialized in its entirety shortly thereafter.

Captcha The Flag

Have you ever had to prove that you’re not a robot? Have you ever considered that the thing you’re proving you’re not a robot to is actually a robot? What else does this robot know about you? How is it going to use that information against you? Music-wise there’s a lot of push and pull going on. Raging one minute, lulled into a sense of security the next. The dynamics of the song are meant to reflect our love/hate relationship with technology. Eventually it’ll be a hate/ hate relationship, but we’re not there yet. So enjoy your phones while you can!

Moscow

Is Rocky IV the best Rocky movie? Why is Rocky IV the best Rocky movie?

Dark and Mysterious

A loud and angry perspective of someone coming to terms with unrequited dreams. It owes a debt to old Propagandhi, Cameron Crowe, Jager, and Ultimate Warrior promos.

Birds Like Meat

I was sitting in a parking lot eating a ham sandwich watching the pigeons settle for crumbs. With large enough numbers and the right leadership, they could’ve overpowered me and taken my sandwich. Thank god pigeons are dumb.

Cool Girls / Ugly Tattoos

I had a conversation that concluded along the lines of “any girl worth talking to is going to have an ugly tattoo.” Not necessarily a hard and fast rule, but something to consider. Especially when you think about the amount of bad ink out there. For the song I tried to write an intriguing character portrait full of contradictions. Would you like to meet this girl? Which characteristics speak to you?

I Wanna Pet Your Dog

I’m allergic to dogs (and cats) so I’ve lived my life without the urge to put my hands on every cute doggo I see. From an outsider’s perspective, dog people can be strange. Like, they just assume every dog wants to be touched by them. Writing this song I’m not trying to stir up any controversy (and believe me, there’s controversy to be found if you decide there to be). Just pointing out how weird and creepy dog people can be. (cat people are even worse!)

I Hate The Way You Make Me Feel (About Me)

Our big angsty closer. It kind of ties into the themes established in Lottery Tickets about growing older and dissatisfied with one’s life. Then reaching the unpleasant conclusion that we only have ourselves to blame. If there’s anything to take away from this, it’s that we’re our own worst critic. We’re all suffering. And we’re all so hard on ourselves. So I’ll leave you with this: take the time today to pick someone else up then give yourself that same amount of love and compassion.