Econoline Crush and Trevor Hurst hang in there with their life-affirming, anthemic new electro-rock single No Quitter — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Everyone has days where they want to give up. Throw in some mental-health struggles and heavy grief, and that urge to just leave just gets stronger. But the long-time Vancouver rockers have the antidote to that urge with this driving, pulsing, fiery preview of their forthcoming album When The Devil Drives. The two-time Juno nominees have also announced a Western Canadian tour kicking off on June 1 in Powell River, B.C. and ending on June 24 in Vancouver.
Full of heavy fuzz, a pounding beat, and a soaring, billowy chorus, No Quitter is an electrifying earworm full of lifeforce. It starts out with a dreary downbeat mood:
“You’re wasted, it’s ok
It’s just that kind of day
Spending all my time thinking how I’m going to pay
The bank, the bills, the rent, the pills, alimony, sad story
The walls are closing in on me.”
And then the attitude shifts dramatically, where the narrator affirms, “Fuck that noise / You know it’s going to turn around / Kick it into gear / Push it ‘till it plays.”
The song is an ode to David “Ziggy” Sigmund, who played guitar in Econoline Crush from 1997 to 2002, and then rejoined in 2010. He passed away suddenly in March 2022, just as the band’s new album was being mixed, delivering a huge personal blow to frontman Hurst. Even the album title is an homage to Ziggy (and Econoline’s best-selling album and song, 1997’s The Devil You Know).
“ ‘Needs must when the devil drives’ is a Shakespeare quote meaning ‘do what’s necessary.’ Ziggy used to say that all the time,” Trevor recalls. “When you’re in the throes of addiction, you do what you can to get through it.” Trevor has had his own struggles with addiction and mental health throughout his life, so No Quitter acts as both an homage to his late bandmate, and as a reminder to carry on, no matter what.
Manitoba native Hurst formed Econoline Crush some 30 years ago and is now the sole original member. When The Devil Drives is the band’s first album in more than a decade, and will be accompanied by a documentary film titled Flatlander, about Hurst’s second career as a psychiatric nurse. Produced by one-time Miniatures frontman Ian Alexander Smith (SATE, Cassie DaSilva) and mixed by Jack Joseph Puig, two of the album’s nine songs feature Sigmund: The industrial-strength rocker Invincible and the Britpop-inspired Smashing Optimistic.
Listen to No Quitter above, hear more from Econoline Crush and check out their tour dates below, and drive by their website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Econoline Crush Tour Dates:
June 1 | Carlson Community Centre, Powell River, B.C.
June 2 | Queen’s, Nanaimo, B.C.
June 3 | Upstairs Cabaret, Victoria, B.C.
June 8 | Blue Grotto, Kamloops, B.C.
June 10 | Flying Steamshovel, Rossland, B.C.
June 11 | Cranbrook Hotel, Cranbrook, B.C.
June 13 | Bo’s, Red Deer, Alta.
June 14 | Dickens Pub, Calgary, Alta.
June 15 | Starlight Room, Edmonton, Alta.
June 16 | Party In The Park, Whitecourt, Alta.
June 23 | Waverly Hotel, Cumberland, B.C.
June 24 | Pearl, Vancouver, B.C.
