The Privates vinyl The Privates vinyl

We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven't We?

The Best of The Privates + two brand new songs
available for the first time on vinyl

  • A

    Don't Take It Out On Me* 02:00
    We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven't We? 01:41
    Heart's Got a Hole 01:43
    Karate and Explosions 02:53
    I'm Telling 03:15
    Tangelo 01:52
    If I Should Call Your Name 03:27
    You Never Take Me Dancing 02:56

  • B

    I'll Be Honest 03:48
    I'll Be... 03:17
    The Mighty Ducks are Back! 02:43
    Barricades 02:34
    Pocari Sweat 01:46
    Old Times* 02:30

The Privates are:
Rollum Haas - drums
Keith Lowen - bass
Ryan Norris - guitar, keys
Dave Paulson - vocals, guitar, keys

Additional musicians:
Scott Martin - drums on tracks 6, 7, 11
Jonathan Marx - trumpet on track 3

Written and recorded by The Privates, 2003 - 2009.
“Don’t Take It Out On Me” & “Old Times”, 2024

Tracks 1, 8, 9 and 14 recorded by Jeremy Ferguson at Battle Tapes
Tracks 2-7, 10-13 recorded by Jason Bullock at Lake Fever Productions
Mastered by Patrick Damphier
Artwork by Dave Paulson & Michael Eades
Cover elements by Alexis Paulson, Ryan Norris, Seth Murray and Sam Smith

YK-125 • ykrecords.com

The Privates

“No band has ever sounded quite like The Privates.”

That’s a quote from 2006, and it holds up.

For their seven years together, the Nashville indie rock outfit was a favorite of resident record geeks and the local press, who dubbed them “fiercely catchy, smartly arty and bursting with ambition” and among the era’s “top three bands to arise out of Nashville.”

On stage and on record, the band quickly won hearts and minds with controlled blasts of choppy post-punk rhythms, yearning melodies and general six-string chaos. The sound ricocheted off the walls of local dives and basements, and dipped into the sonic wells of Supergrass, The Strokes, Brian Eno, Deerhoof, The Walkmen and other fixtures of their CD binders. The band’s incendiary live show even inspired a short sci-fi film: Dylan Allen’s The Privates (2017), starring a fictionalized version of the band.

Unfortunately, Nashville was as far as the band ever staked a claim. In fact, they never played a show outside of their home state.

Still, The Privates were on the road. All four members, then in their 20s, had full-time gigs touring and recording with more established acts, including The Features, Lambchop and The Pink Spiders. It was a booming time in Nashville’s rock scene, a period that saw the rise of Kings of Leon, Paramore and Be Your Own Pet.

From 2004 to 2009, The Privates released two albums and two 5-song EPs, and quietly played their final regular show in 2010. Aside from a one-off reunion in 2013, the members haven’t performed, written or recorded together since.

UNTIL NOW.

The Privates—Dave Paulson, Ryan Norris, Keith Lowen and Rollum Haas—have reunited to write and record two brand-new songs, “Don’t Take It Out On Me” and “Old Times.” They will bookend the band’s first-ever vinyl release, a best-of collection entitled We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?, which will be released on YK Records. The 14-track set also features remastered selections from the band’s entire discography, including “Heart’s Got a Hole,” “Pocari Sweat” and “You Never Take Me Dancing,” and features a gatefold sleeve with photos and artifacts from their original run.

In 2010, the band stopped booking shows, but never formally broke up. To mark the 10th anniversary of their first show, the band reunited in 2013 for a one-off gig, playing their debut album in its entirety. In 2023—20 years after their formation—they returned to Jeremy Ferguson’s Battletapes to record the new songs.

Plans are underway for a reunion concert/record release celebration in Nashville later in 2024.

  • We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven't We?

    2024

    Listen
  • 'The Privates' Original Score

    July 30, 2017

    Listen
  • Motion

    April 3, 2009

    Listen
  • Barricades

    December 18, 2006

    Listen
  • Louder Than Lightning

    October 1, 2005

    Listen
  • The Privates

    February 1, 2004

    Listen

©2024 The Privates • theprivates.net • yk Records