The Pink Spiders rose out of Nashville in the mid-2000s, fusing power pop hooks with raucous punk spirit and a freewheeling attitude that earned them a reputation for chaos, especially on the road. Teenage Graffiti, their 2006 major-label debut, benefited from their breakout hit “Little Razorblade,” and they spent much of the next year touring. Following a series of disagreements and a membership shuffle, their 2008 follow-up, Sweat It Out, was released on the Pink Spiders’ own label and by the decade’s end they were on hiatus. Occasional activity and a handful of singles eventually built up to the release of 2018’s Mutations, their first album in ten years. In 2023, the Pink Spiders signed with Pure Noise and issued the single “Gold Confetti.”

Frontman Matt Friction formed the band in 2003 with drummer Bob Ferrari and bassist Jon Decious. Citing influences like Buddy Holly, the Dead Boys, the Ramones, and Bay City Rollers, the Pink Spiders’ sound fell somewhere between bubblegum pop and ’70s punk. A self-released EP, 2004’s The Pink Spiders are Taking Over!, was followed in 2005 by the full-length Hot Pink on Pennsylvania indie CI Records. The album’s retro mix of hard rock, power pop, and snarling punk earned national attention and a major-label bidding war. Geffen was the winner, and the label paired them with the Cars‘ Ric Ocasek to produce their major-label debut. Released in August 2006, Teenage Graffiti offered a more mainstream, though still rousing, sound and its breakout lead single, “Little Razorblade,” helped the album reach number 84 on the Billboard 200.