Song of the Day: L7 – Dispatch From Mar-A-Lago

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Morning Show with John Richards, is L7's “Dispatch From Mar-A-Lago," a single available through Don Giovanni Records.

L7 – Dispatch From Mar-A-Lago (MP3)

Since reuniting in 2014, grungy hard rockers L7 have been making up for lost time. In addition to select live appearances, the California quartet has collaborated on a just-released documentary L7: Pretend We're Dead and recorded its first new song in 18 years, "Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago."

Co-written by vocalist Donita Sparks and guitarist Suzi Gardner, the corrosive punk-metal tune envisions what might happen if President Donald Trump's palatial Florida retreat was under siege. The timely lyrics reference Trump's inflammatory Twitter habit ("Little blue birds blowing up my phone/It's a fluke, we're not under attack") and love of garish décor ("S.O.S. from a golden throne"), and ends with the ominous promise that some entity is "storming the gates at Mar-a-Lago."

Despite a lighthearted veneer, these words double as pointed commentary on the infuriating absurdity of today's political climate. That assertion is backed up by the music, which is grade-A L7 fury: a bruising twin-guitar attack; Sparks' distorted sneer; and the rhythm section of bassist Jennifer Finch and drummer Dee Plakas providing a propulsive, boiling-tar low-end. With any luck, "Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago" won't be a one-off—but instead signal the start of L7's next formidable recording chapter.

There are no local tour dates from L7 at the moment, but you can follow them on Facebook here. Watch the band perform today's featured track live from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles below.