Ed Kuepper's The Aints announce new studio album of lost songs

He kicked off his career as one of the most influential punk guitarists of all time, and after a year which has seen a Brisbane park named after him, and a revival of one of the loudest rock bands of the ’90s, Ed Kuepper has announced that The Aints are set to record a brand new record – their first since 1992.

Ed Kuepper first rose to prominence in the ’70s as the lead guitarist of Brisbane punk rock group The Saints. Often called one of the first punk bands in the world, The Saints made a name for themselves both locally and internationally for their raw, primal sound, and intense live shows. After three records with the group, Kuepper left the group to perform with The Laughing Clowns, eventually embarking upon a solo career.

In the early ’90s, Ed Kuepper began The Aints, a cheekily-titled reimagining of The Saints, whose goal was to recapture the energy of his band back in the ’70s. Following the release of two albums in quick succession, The Aints decided to lay low for quite some time, before re-emerging a few years back, and heading out on a national tour with Peter Oxley from the Sunnyboys and Paul Larson of The Celibate Rifles.

Clearly re-energised by the reception from this latest touring cycle, the band have decided to release a brand new album, comprised of songs written by Kuepper during his 1973-1978 period in The Saints.

As The Music reports, the new album, titled The Church Of Simultaneous Existence, is set to be recorded by the band following a run of shows in March of next year.

“Things had started to move fairly quickly once The Saints recorded (I’m) Stranded in mid ’76. We recorded three albums over the next two years as well as doing a fair it of touring, and for a while things were looking very promising, however, business problems, compounded by personal and artistic differences meant the band didn’t get around to recording all the material I had lying around,” Kuepper explaind.

“So forty odd years later it occurred to me that these songs might well have made up a hypothetical 4th album. Performed in much the way they would have had the band not split up in 1978.”

The band are also set to play two shows in Melbourne and Sydney next year. Tickets to those shows go on sale 9am on Thursday, December 21st, so be sure to get in early to catch Ed Kuepper and co. paying homage to the legacy of The Saints.