When the Venn diagram of passion, friendship, identity, and artistry collide, it can feel as if
fighting words are spitting from your veins. And as postmodern society crumbles, Die Spitz
giddily bounce between a dozen different ways to push back. If the world of rock music were an
ice cream shop, the Austin quartet have sampled each flavor, flipped the freezer over, and
started dancing with the employees they helped unionize. On their debut album, Something to
Consume (due Sept 12 via Third Man Records), Ava Schrobilgen, Chloe De St. Aubin, Ellie
Livingston, and Kate Halter fight against the inescapable consumption that surrounds life.
“There’s a political side to it, but addiction and love can also be all-consuming,” Livingston says.
And as the foursome trade off instruments, swapping songwriting and vocal duties, and
generating powerful songwriting in concussive bursts, Die Spitz have created their own little
pocket of the world where we can all stand on the edge together.
That unity comes in part from the deep bonds between the 22-year-olds. All four are Austin
natives, with Schrobilgen and Livingston having met in preschool, befriending Halter in middle
school, and immediately bringing De St. Aubin into their inner circle when they formed the
band in 2022. The group was initially just looking to find reasons to hang out more often, and
decided to start a band after a late-night viewing of the Mötley Crüe movie The Dirt. Though
they’ve only been playing together a few years (not to mention Halter only learning to play bass
to start the band), Something to Consume shows a maturity and technical prowess always wielded
in service of their profound friendship.
The group settled on the name Die Spitz over a “brown bag of Fireball”, opting for the feminine
German definite article in place of the English. “It reminds me of the Grim Reaper spitting,”
Livingston jokes. At their first live shows, they paired originals with covers from some of their
inspirations: Black Sabbath, Pixies, Mudhoney, PJ Harvey, and Nirvana. The beguiling “Pop
Punk Anthem” somehow encapsulates elements throughout that large musical swath, building
from roiling verses to a growled chorus. “It may sound like a love song at first, but when the beat
kicks in it’s the obsession that takes over,” Schrobilgen says. “The words ‘you’re a part of me’
sound loving but it can be an insane emotion and privilege over someone else’s life.”
As if their closeness as a band weren’t enough, the members of Die Spitz have also
intermittently been roommates and still live near each other. “We call it sitcom life,” Livingston
laughs. That said, the Die Spitz TV show would have a significantly different soundtrack to your
usual sitcom fare. The Austinites express their ideas through a blend of classic punk, hardcore,
metal, alt rock and more. The group have become known for their riotous live shows, where
dueling cartwheels, Halter playing bass mid-crowdsurf, Schrobilgen unleashing a growling bark,
and Livingston posing with the microphone on top of the venue’s bar or climbing into the
rafters could happen at any moment. Pairing their mind-melting gigs with even more impressive
songs has led to stints opening for (and rivaling the energy of) bands like OFF!, Amyl and the
Sniffers, Viagra Boys, and Sleater-Kinney.
That shapeshifting strength comes into full view on the explosive “Throw Yourself to the
Sword”, a song that raises a righteous fist of empowerment over thrash guitar. “Throw yourself/
To the sword,” the start-stop chorus begins, before taking a more modern turn. “What’s it like
knowing/ None of you bitches can compete?” Livingston sees the song as an important reminder
to let go of insecurities and embrace the power you have over yourself—something that unifies
the Die Spitz catalog. “Be the bad bitch you are amongst the mundane and use your voice as a
young person,” she says. “Don’t let these old fools tell you you can’t do anything.”
Whether on the punk chug of “RIDING WITH MY GIRLS” or the syrupy grunge of “Go Get
Dressed”, Something to Consume moves with rapturous conviction thanks in part to the deft
production hand of Studio 4’s Will Yip. Though only recently in their 20s, Die Spitz’s impressive
musicianship ties them clearly to a long lineage of frustrated people hoping to inspire change.
“Some people aren’t interested in being political activists via music, but it weighs on me heavily
and I feel misaligned with my calling if I don’t,” De St. Aubin says. “The four of us are free
spirits with multiple interests, and there’s no limit or power dynamic that can derail us.”
The thrumming “Voir Dire” embodies that expressive strength, an acoustic-driven jam that airs
frustrations with American globalism. “Unless we’re part of the few in power, we’ll someday be
victimized and regret that we didn’t act now,” De St. Aubin adds. “America brings war on
marginalized people in our own country and other lands, and being complacent will not be
comfortable forever.” Elsewhere, the grimy and pained “Punishers” explores the frustration and
ache of a relationship that just won’t work despite best intentions—two people punishing each
other instead of just letting go. But even when they’re tackling these sort of impactful themes,
Die Spitz infuse the proceedings with a golden warmth. These aren’t songs of vicious mockery,
but charged rallying calls—which in turn ties back to the band’s origin story. “It was a joke that
went too far,” Halter smirks. “We never thought it was going to be a real thing.”
Across 11 tracks, Something to Consume contains multitudes and yet feels of a singular piece, an
expansive and expressive set unified in its camaraderie and freedom. “We depend on our
freedom—freedom to do what we want, present the ideas we want, make the music we want,”
Livingston says. “Whether it’s based in metal or something soft, no matter which of us wrote the
song, we all contribute and work together. As a person, I don’t have a strong ego or voice, but
within this band each one of us is capable of so much more.”