First of all, let that sink in – members of Don Caballero, Bitch Magnet, Hurtling, all in one place. Not only does this make We Contain Multitudes a supergroup, it makes them an international supergroup, with John Fine and Orestes Martin residing in the US and Simon Kobayashi living overseas in the UK.
“It took us a long time to finish the songs on this album,” admits Jon. “If I’d had to write lyrics, we wouldn’t have finished this record until 2030, at least, and Expert Work would be even more disappointed with us than they already are.”
Those would be some tough beans for anyone, but we have a feeling the kind folks at Expert Work will be alright if the fiery spectacle of new single “Can We Just Not?” is any indication.
Somewhere between OXES, Pelican, The Fucking Champs, and the best of their previously associated projects, We Contain Multitudes sound as vital and fresh as they do seasoned and familiar.
“It was a great gift to be able to build these songs for years, in a kind of clandestine and invisible way.” Jon continues. “It feels like we’ve been keeping a secret from everyone, and we’re so fucking psyched to share it —finally – with the world.”
Well, you kind of were, Jon, but we have little choice to forgive you with news this good. Here’s a bit more background on the project and the band’s new album, Minako, from the press release courtesy of Discipline PR:
We Contain Multitudes, an instrumental trio, formed in 2017, which means it’s taken a very long time for them to, you know, actually release a record. But Jon lives in New York, Orestes lives in Tucson, and Simon lives in London. Also there was this whole Covid thing, which made getting together in the same room to play music rather complex for a while.
Anyway. Their debut record, Minako, which was recorded by Abe Seiferth and produced by Seiferth and the band, will be released on June 25, 2025, by Expert Work Records. A very limited edition of 50 copies are on orange vinyl.
We Contain Multitudes is heavy and intricate. At times, the album goes far deeper into psychedelic, repetitive, and minimal/maximalist realms than anything these guys’ prior bands (and more on them in a moment) have done.
Jon and Orestes first played in a band so long ago that they’d really rather not discuss it. OK, fine, you win, it was 1987, when Orestes joined Bitch Magnet. Bitch Magnet became a signal American post-hardcore band of its era, put out three albums, and toured the US and Europe before breaking up in late 1990. Its records were reissued in 2011 by Temporary Residence, and the band reunited for tours of the US, Asia, and Europe—including an appearance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival— in 2011 and 2012.
Jon and Orestes met Simon when Simon’s band smallgang opened for Bitch Magnet in London during said reunion tour. When Jon and Orestes decided to start a new band, they immediately thought of Simon for bass, largely because, based on that one show, they understood at once that he is a substantially better guitarist than Jon.
Simon also plays in the British band Hurtling. Jon was in Vineland, and was a touring guitarist for Don Caballero for a bit. Orestes was in Walt Mink, God Rifle, and Bored Spies. Also, Spin once named Orestes as the 50th-greatest drummer in alternative music, a ranking that—as anyone who has heard Orestes play understands—is far too low.
Jon is also the author of the punk rock memoir Your Band Sucks, which was published by Penguin in 2015 and won critical acclaim in outlets ranging from The New York Times to Men’s Journal to the Boston Globe to The Atlantic to the Philippine Star. Your Band Sucks concludes with Jon deciding to retire from music at the conclusion of Bitch Magnet’s reunion tours, and to not pursue a new band he’d been discussing with Orestes.
(Jon changed his mind.)
Minako, pronounced mih-NAH-ko, is a Japanese name that means ‘beautiful child.’ The album is at least partly named for the city-pop vocalist Minako Yoshida. (Simon, whose father is Japanese, came up with it.)
Oh, did we mention it’s going to be a double-LP? Expert Work is expected to release the record June 25th, and you can pre-order one of the limited-to-300 copies here, with 50 of those being a luxurious shade of orange – pick one up ASAP!
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