“Damage,” the latest single from Toadies forthcoming studio album The Charmer, is out now alongside a lyric video featuring footage from the band’s recording sessions with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago.
“For ‘Damage,’ I wanted to capture that caged feeling of lockdown—when all we wanted to do was get out, be around people, and have a fun night,” Lewis explains. “I liked the idea of balancing darker lyrics with something upbeat and fun. It kind of reflects that confusion I was feeling at the time. It’s a joy to play live and really gets the crowd moving.”
Guitarist Clark Vogeler adds, “To me it feels expressive but understated. There’s a great energy to the performance we captured on this track, and it’s a blast to play live. It flies by in what feels like seconds.”
The lyric video was edited by Sam Wainwright Douglas, using still photography from the Electrical Audio sessions. “The record sounded monolithic to me, which led us toward a stark black-and-white visual direction,” Vogeler says. “That aesthetic has really become the visual language of The Charmer.”
The images featured in both the album artwork and lyric video were shot by Lewis’ daughter, Ruby Faye Lewis. “She flew in from Brooklyn to document a few days of the session, and we loved what she captured,” Lewis says. “Her photos really reflect the live energy of the band in that room.”
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