Forget middle eights. Forget bridges. Lindsay, ON’s Asthma Kids have a message and they’re yelling it straight from the steel guts of across the planet to all the indie punks out there. Their new single “Die on This Hill (The Meek Are Getting Ready Pt II)” is a warning shot. A middle finger in 4/4 time to late-stage capitalism, billionaires who pay no taxes, and the idea that your kid might never afford rent.
Asthma Kids is the brainchild of Trevor Hutchinson (Big Eddy, Pardon Beggars) and JP Gill, a duo who refuse to color inside the genre lines. “We leave labels for soup cans,” Hutchinson quips. Punk? Post-pop? Freak-country? Americana? Check all that apply and throw it out. “Make art! Put your phone down and record that song,” Hutchinson insists. That’s the mantra behind Asthma Kids: authentic, angry, and unfiltered.
The new single, mixed at Abbey Road and originally released via UK punk label Dammit Records, is already gaining steam internationally. “I was pissed off,” Hutchinson admits. “My daughter might never rent an apartment. Then I read about billionaires not paying taxes. So I wrote the most direct thing I could.” The song, recorded in three hours at Black Tail Recording during a solar eclipse in Hamilton, Canada’s punk Mecca, hits like a headbutt.
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Yr1n4TTeoHOcJuqShAORD
“I didn’t want singer-songwriter drivel clouding the message,” Hutchinson added. “It had to be crystal clear. It’s an f-you to the super elite. But after I nearly died — strokes, rehab, all that — I started hearing hope in it too. It became energizing. Even if I use a cane to (expletive) walk.”
From the band that gave you alien-themed alt-country and punchy power pop (remember “Fenelon Falls 4 Bobcaygeon 0”?), this track takes their ethos further. It’s militant, raw, and real — the only Canadian song on the new ‘Dam-Nations’ punk compilation. Their ‘comedy’ track “Alien Love” has nearly 20K YouTube views. “Not bad for outsider art,” Hutchinson deadpans.
Asthma Kids want co-conspirators. This is music as manifesto. It’s a sweaty basement show turned call to arms. The duo has been semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition twice (yes, once in comedy, once in Americana), and they’re still defying expectations with every track.
“Die on This Hill (The Meek Are Getting Ready Pt II)” is out now on all platforms. Stream it, scream it, and maybe think about which hill you’d die on — before the rent goes up again.