Today, Seattle’s self-described Northwest Emo band Puppy Feet premiere the first two singles from their upcoming full-length. Am I writing about these songs because of the band name? Of course I am. It was the name that grabbed my attention: Puppy Feet. Cute. Disarmingly sweet. Sometimes, they smell like Fritos. And as artists continue to wade through the backwash of decent (or at least interesting) band names, it's rare to see a name that inspires confidence. Puppy Feet stood out in my inbox just enough to make me click and hope for a sweet escape. 

I had seen Puppy Feet's name before. The band—Johannes Heine, Greg Hermann, Chris Moore, Jared Auwarter—played around town in the 2020s and released a handful of singles and EPs between 2021-2023. Then they went quiet, as many bands do. I assumed they were done.

So did they.

In an email announcing their new material, the band wrote, "This album is our first, but it feels like the story of a reunion. Four people who thought they’d left music behind after the pandemic—trading it for jobs, houses, and routines—found their way back to it together."

They bring that renewed love of music—and making music together—into their new self-titled album, due out May 23. It's somewhat of an ode to the songs that made them want to make music in the first place, recorded at the historic Hall of Justice in Ballard. 

The first single, "Address Line 2" is straight out of the early Weezer playbook. "The album reflects where we’ve been and the music we might have kept making in our twenties, reconnecting with old inspirations and new ideas," they say. "'Address Line 2' is inspired by the bands we grew up on, with big choruses and a dynamic, emotional bridge." 

“8 Days a Week” is on the other end of the indie rock spectrum—a 68-second anthem for fuck-ups. The lyrics document a litany of personal failures while pummeling percussion and gang vocals underscore the painfully relatable one-liner, “I’m one fuck up away from losing it all!!” It’s an invitation to embrace your mistakes, a fun song to blast into your headphones and loudly sing along to. Because we are all one fuck up away from losing it all, tbh! (I am also a sucker for a well-placed “Woo!” in an indie rock or punk song a la Refused’s “New Noise,” Get Up Kids’ “Close to Home,” The Anniversary’s “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” and this song delivers.)

To mark Puppy Feet's return, I asked them a few questions about the upcoming album, what it was like recording in the legendary Hall of Justice, and dogs. 

Since you’re all transplants, I have to ask—the Seattle Freeze: Real or bullshit? 

The freeze only exists in winter—Seattle people are great in the summertime!

I hear big guitar-driven indie and power pop like early Weezer and Get Up Kids in "Address Line 2," and then "8 Days a Week" sounds more contemporary—I hear Pup, I hear Jeff Rosenstock. Is the whole record a back-and-forth of eras like that?

The album does have this back-and-forth between classic indie/emo and more modern punk/alt-rock sounds. "Address Line 2" was actually a bit of an outlier for us in that regard. That track went through a lot of revisions and tempo changes before we finally landed on the driving, guitar-centric version you hear. We initially had more uptempo power-pop, but ultimately felt slowing it down and layering the guitars gave it a bigger, more Weezer-y sound. “8 Days a Week” was written around the guitar hook in the middle of the song. We have a running joke about songs being too long and decided to do something about it! As with many of the songs, it has a fun tone that is actually quite depressing when you dive into the lyrics. 

You recorded your new album at the Hall of Justice in Ballard. That building has been a recording studio since the 70s—so much music has been made there! What are your all-time favorite records to ever be recorded there? (One per person, I'm making it tough!)

The Hall of Justice is such an iconic studio—so much incredible music has come out of those walls over the decades. It’s also surprisingly tiny, really just one live room and a console. During our recording sessions tourists would stop by to check out the space, including one group from France who were there to see where Nirvana and Soundgarden recorded their early work. As for favorites… 

Johannes: Built to Spill, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love. This album was my go-to after my first serious breakup. It was so raw and natural, hitting beautifully crafted hooks and hard-hitting musical breaks. A huge inspiration for me and a record I hold very close to my heart. 

Greg: Death Cab For Cutie's Transatlanticism was the soundtrack to my most formative years, arriving at exactly the moment I needed it. It's a perfect mix of songwriting and storytelling that has always stayed with me. Also, while recording at Hall of Justice, we had the opportunity to use the same tape machine used on the album, so it was a meaningful way to connect our music to a record that shaped me. 

Chris: Postal Service’s Give Up. This has to be one of the best indie-emo-pop albums ever created! Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis’s voices are so smooth on top of the indie synths from Jimmy Tamborello. 

Jared: Mine is also Postal Service. I know it wasn’t entirely recorded at the Hall, but it’s so good and different for its time! 

With a name like Puppy Feet, I'm gonna assume at least one of you has a dog. Can I see some dog pics?

Yes! Some of us have dogs here in Seattle!