Retail Drugs Releases 'Factory Reset,' 2nd Album of 2025 via Angel Tapes !
Today Retail Drugs — the recording moniker of NYC-based artist Jake Brooks — release shis second album of 2025, Factory Reset, via Fire Talk Records’ emerging artists imprint Angel Tapes (Dorothy, Jawdropped, shower curtain, and more). Earlier this week, Retail Drugs presented its final advance single, “Knifetime,” alongside an accompanying music video helmed by the Brooks and longtime collaborators Josiah and David Martuscello. “Knifetime” is irresistibly warped, a detour-filled jolt of energy that injects hypnotic mantras into a kinetic punk palette. “Knifetime” follows a trail of singles which preview Factory Reset’s abrasive palette, which straddles noise, rock, and electronics to create an entry unlike anything else in Retail Drugs’ prolific discography.
To celebrate the release of Factory Reset, Retail Drugs will perform a hometown gig at Alphaville, followed by a special engagement in Chicago for an Angel Tapes showcase. A full list of tour dates are below, and all tickets are on sale now.
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Factory Reset marks Retail Drugs’ second album of 2025, following the b-sides and demos collection rECKless dRIVing released earlier this summer, and comes a little more than a year after the band’s underground debut album i love you so !. Factory Reset takes a stark detour from Brooks’ prior releases, abandoning guitar-forward tape-recorded compositions, and instead doubling down on the experimental electronic impulses scattered throughout Brooks’ prolific discography.
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Emerging from New York City’s thriving scene of twenty-something rockers, Retail Drugs funnels Brooks’ early adulthood experiences through layers of fuzz, distortion, and guitars that land somewhere between grunge and noise. rECKless dRIVing picks up where Brooks left off, gesturing toward digital and electronic impulses yet to be explored in Retail Drugs’ burgeoning discography, and zeroing in on the emotional well from which i love you so ! pulled. rECKless dRIVing and its predecessor bring a decidedly lo-fi POV, and present some of Retail Drugs’ most immediate and heartfelt songs-to-date.
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Last year, Brooks quietly released his debut album, i love you so !, which established his presence as NYC’s premier home-tape recording entity. Brooks followed the release with countless live performances around the city’s venues, bars, and DIY operations, gaining a reputation for provocative gigs that blur the line between rock show and performance art. Newly signed to Fire Talk’s emerging artists imprint, Angel Tapes, Retail Drugs presents a new run of cassette tapes.
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