In early December 2024, just 10 minutes into their U.S. tour, Sports Team was robbed at gunpoint in Vallejo, California. They had just stopped for a coffee run. The thieves got away with some personal effects, but didn’t get to the band’s gear. This allowed them to continue on their tour despite the harrowing experience.
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“They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways,” the band posted on Instagram alongside a video of the robbery. The experience itself shook the band, but what really surprised them was the blasé U.S. attitude toward potential gun violence.
They called the police and were told to “submit an online report,” they wrote in their social media post. It was “pretty shocking how resigned everyone seemed to be,” they noted, despite the fact that the robbery happened at 9 a.m. in broad daylight. Lead vocalist Alex Rice told the BBC, “Obviously, if someone pulls a gun, you run for cover,” then added, “But the thing that struck me about it was the resignation. The people around us weren’t very panicked at all. It seemed like a very everyday occurrence.”
Today, January 10, Sports Team has released their latest single as they gear up for their third album, Boys These Days, due out in May. “Bang Bang Bang” is a commentary on U.S. gun culture, which many will want to attribute to the robbery last year. However, the twist is, Sports Team was already planning to release the single before they were robbed at gunpoint. It’s a strange coincidence that doesn’t seem so strange when you consider the subject matter.
[RELATED: British Indie Rock Band Robbed at Gunpoint in California Starbucks Parking Lot]
Sports Team Releases New Single “Bang Bang Bang” About U.S. Gun Culture, Was Planning for 2025 Release Before Robbery Last Year
“Bang Bang Bang” sounds like something that could be featured on the soundtrack of an edgy neo-Western film. Sports Team is taking a more cinematic turn for their third album. They’re creating lush sonic experiences on previously released tracks like “I’m In Love (Subaru),” which includes a wailing saxophone. The band has been firmly rooted in U.K. indie rock for a while now, but they’re branching out, exploring chaos and madness on a global scale.
The single was inspired by Sports Team’s previous U.S. tour. There, they would see the image of an AR-15 used in marketing and logos as they traveled. Guitarist and lyricist Rob Knaggs said in a press release, “You’d stop for petrol, and alongside the snacks and neon drinks there’d be racks with tourist souvenirs; a Mickey Mouse hat, pet rocks, some postcard of a local landmark, then an AR-15 thermos cup.”
Knaggs added, “That’s where the seed of the lyrics came from. Seeing that silhouette used like it’s just any other American icon. Then across the time we spent in America I was fleshing the lyrics out. There was a story I saw about NRA robocalls after the Newtown shooting, and it’s horrific. The immediate PR damage control machine that clicks into action.”
Sports Team has been described as “the world’s most serious unserious band,” and that description fits them like a glove. To craft a song like “Bang Bang Bang” takes skill and walking a fine line between satire and grave seriousness. The song captures the essence of seeing the AR-15 image on innocuous, everyday objects. The ridiculousness of it and the sheer desensitization that the U.S. has put itself through over time.
“Bang Bang Bang” is smart, sharp, and shocking. There are times when you’re vibing with the Western influences, tapping your toe to the chorus, and then a line like “Little Jimmy gets a B in Math, two shots in the head” pistol whips you across the face.
Featured Image by Bartek Szmigulski
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