There’s something quietly powerful about a band admitting they nearly called it a day. For Vancouver pop punk lifers Chief State, that moment didn’t end the story. It restarted it.
The band have announced their new album Keep Your Friends Closer, arriving April 17 via Mutant League Records, and it already feels like more than just another release. Alongside the announcement comes the title track, now out with a new video, and it’s a sharp reminder of why this band has lasted as long as it has.
After the release of “No Brakes” back in October, this new single feels like the emotional centre of the record. It’s urgent, melodic, and very much written by people who’ve lived through the highs and lows of sticking with a band for years. There’s no overthinking here. It sounds like a group locking back in with purpose.
What makes Keep Your Friends Closer hit harder is the context behind it. The band have been open about the uncertainty that surrounded its creation. Line-up changes, life pulling people in different directions, and that very real moment where you ask whether it’s worth carrying on. Instead of over-dramatising it, they did the most Chief State thing possible and wrote a song. That spark turned into an album built on friendship, setbacks, loyalty, and the kind of determination you only get from people who’ve been through it together.
Recorded with longtime collaborator Tim Creviston and mastered by Stu McKillop, the album leans into everything that’s always worked for the band while sounding sharper and more confident. It balances energy with introspection, grit with melody, and never loses sight of the fact that pop punk works best when it’s honest.
Ten years in, Keep Your Friends Closer doesn’t feel like a victory lap. It feels like a band choosing to go again, with clearer intentions and nothing to prove beyond being themselves. Sometimes the albums that nearly don’t happen are the ones that matter most. This sounds like one of them.
