“Making an album is always a very, very tough process because it takes everything out of you,” Bolen said. “We’ve been really concentrating on writing the album because we still have a lot to do with it.”

By the time Chin Up Chin Up blows through SXSW and wraps up recording their second LP, vocalist Jeremy Bolen should be feeling just fine. That is, if he catches all the breaks.

“I think by then I’ll probably be close to something of breakdown of some sort,” Bolen said.

Slated to enter the studio in May, CUCU is already feverishly practicing five days a week preparing the tracks that will make up their yet-to-be-named record.

“Making an album is always a very, very tough process because it takes everything out of you,” Bolen said. “We’ve been really concentrating on writing the album because we still have a lot to do with it.”

Bolen stated that the new disc, slated for release October 11, would be more of a rock record than We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, but would still possess a sound that is unmistakably Chin Up Chin Up. However, before CUCU hits the studio, they are getting yanked away from their bunker for a couple of shows at SXSW…not just another gig, in other words.

“We’re really excited about it and are treating it with a lot of care,” Bolen said. “We’ve already had talks about how were going to have to watch our alcohol intake, because we’re playing a show at noon that has free beer and then we’re off to play a show at ten.” The later show will be at the showcase of their new label, Suicide Squeeze. This could have produced a strange dynamic, as Chin Up Chin Up’s new bass player, Jesse Woghin, is the co-owner of their former label, Flameshovel.

“It’s definitely something that could have been a sticky situation. [Woghin and James Kenler, Flameshovel’s other co-owner] were both really cool about it,” Bolen said. “They’re friends of ours and were very supportive of the growth.”

And what does Bolen have planned when SXSW and their record is all said and done?

“I plan on not picking up a guitar,” Bolen said with a laugh.

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