Boston indie fuzz-punk trio unleash a noisy ode to resilience and perseverance through a tenacious new single out Friday, June 5
Step inside Today Junior’s cozy and isolated practice space along the blurry Boston neighborhood line of Allston and Brighton, and a sanctuary from the outside world quickly emerges. A colorful array of Christmas lights and other illumination offers a welcoming glow, flyers from past gigs – and good times had – line the walls alongside endless pastings of posters from Nirvana to Hendrix to Thelonious Monk, and stacks of old VHS tapes and DVDs, featuring classic movies, TV shows, and ‘90s-era pro wrestling, provide entertainment when the indie fuzz-punk trio isn’t busy rocking out.
When either playing live on stage or huddled together in the practice space, Today Junior experience feeling safe and secure. It’s everywhere else in the increasingly hostile outside world – from the rising cost of living to government oppression to what the band dubs “anarchy in the U.S.A.” – that’s giving the dudes a heavy cause for concern.
But not content to just sit back and let society fall into a mass decay as the powers that be take more and more, the band strikes back against our constant struggle with scathing new single “Keep On Pushing Me,” a blistering rallying cry of fortitude and perseverance, set for release on Friday, June 5.
“To us, it’s about not giving up when it feels like you are being pushed off the path you’re trying to achieve,” Today Junior state. “It’s about being resilient and having determination while following your passion, or simply just living your life. Sometimes, it feels there’s something getting in the way, especially in the world and country we’re living in today.”
The new single follows a pair of lively releases last summer in “Coastlines” and “If You Want To,” and all three songs will be featured on the band’s forthcoming new album, Stranger Days, due out later this year. It’ll be their first long-player since a 2023 self-titled record.
“Keep On Pushing Me” showcases Today Junior’s euphonic, high-energy, and wavy indie rock, which stirs up elements of psych, surf, and punk under a propulsive whirlwind of sound and melody. And it should sound huge when the band plays with Weird Nightmare, the new Sub Pop Records project from METZ’s Alex Edkins, at Deep Cuts in Medford on Sunday, June 28.
Coincidentally, the Deep Cuts show comes a little more than three years after the band – Harry O’Toole on guitar and lead vocals; Mike O’Toole; on drums, percussion, and backing vocals; and new recruit Jonathan Hislop on bass and backing vocals – christened the venue on opening night with fellow noise-slingers Black Beach and Zip-Tie Handcuff back in April 2023.
Now, fresh off appearances at Somerville Porchfest and The Boston Concert Network’s Saturday Night Special live stream from the David Bieber Archives, “Keep On Pushing Me” has been a staple of the band’s recent live sets, and with all the bullshit going on in the world right now, made sense as the next Today Junior single offered up from the band’s prolific catalog.
“We feel like it was relevant to the times we were living in day to day,” they add. “‘Keep On Pushing Me,’ along with other songs on the new album, are a little more edgy and punk. When we’ve been writing music for Today Junior, we never try to keep ourselves in a box genre-wise. We always try to write music that is reflective of what we’re feeling, what we want to listen to, and try not to confine ourselves to rules.”
That means taking a look around, and seeing that we’re all dealing with a struggle right now, whether it’s paying the rent, fighting off oppression, and taking to the streets to make our voices heard. “Keep On Pushing Me” is a song about finding balance and confidence, a soundtrack for resilience meant to be played at maximum volume, all while it calls out the efforts to divide us as a way to keep us distracted and destabilized. And that’s to say nothing of the cost of being an artist right now, and the effort it takes to stay afloat and create art in the first place.
“In 2026, it’s harder financially to support yourself as a DIY artist,” Today Junior admit. “Living in Boston, we, along with friends, coworkers, share the same sentiment of struggling to pay their bills. We wanted to match the energy of the song with lyrics that would capture the mood we were feeling when creating it.”
With music and lyrics written by the Brothers O’Toole, “Keep On Pushing Me” was recorded at Ghost Hit Recording in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and engineered by Andrew Oedel. It was produced by Oedel and the band, with mastering by Mike Tucci.
“We are always trying to evolve our sound and refine our craft as musicians and songwriters. Today Junior, at its core, has always been our vehicle for just writing great songs that we enjoy. The goal has always been trying to write songs that we want to hear, so I’d like to think our songs have only gotten better over time.”
And it sets a tone for what’s to come on the record, all while taking a stand against the bad stuff we’re all faced with on a daily basis. What was written in the band’s practice space is now out on the streets with the people, and Today Junior just want it to be something that listeners can appreciate.
“We hope they can relate to the lyrics or be moved by the music,” they conclude. “I think that is always the number one goal when writing songs.”
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Today Junior is:
Harry O’Toole: Guitar and lead vocals
Mike O’Toole: Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Jonathan Hislop: Bass and backing vocals
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‘Keep On Pushing Me’ production credits:
Music and lyrics by Harry O’Toole + Mike O’Toole
Recorded at Ghost Hit Recording in West Springfield, MA
Engineered by Andrew Oedel
Produced by Today Junior and Andrew Oedel
Mastered by Mike Tucci
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Today Junior short bio:
Today Junior is a Boston based indie-rock trio known for having wild and energetic live performances. With the creative wisdom of brothers Mike and Harry O’Toole, alongside Jonathan Hislop, Today Junior presents upbeat and edgy music that is instantly catchy, but also carries its own stylistic charm. With the releases of Ride The Surf (2015) their EP Leaving Easy (2017) and Single Forever (2018) the band offers an addictive musical blend that has just been gaining steam the last few years, opening for bands such as: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Surf Curse, Jacuzzi Boys, Homeshake, So-So Glos, Adult Books, and others. New music has been a constant through the 2020s, and their latest album, Stranger Days, is set for release later this year.
