The Real Sickies from Edmonton, Canada, are back with their 5th full length album, titled Under a Plastic Bag, which will be released on March 14, 2025 via Stomp Records. Known for their relentless touring and infectious melodies, the band channels the spirit of the golden age of punk with a fresh and accessible modern twist.
Even Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has described the Real Sickies as his favorite Canadian punk band, cementing their place as a standout on the global punk scene. The album’s centerpiece, “Wild Imagination,” is accompanied by an accompanying video created by Jesse Nash and a story as unique as its sound. Ben explains: “The song sounds dirty, but it’s about fossils. I loved fossil hunting, especially fossil wood, and spent days walking through a creek in Edmonton, soaking my feet and humming this song.
The lyrics were collected by the dropper. It’s quirky, it’s personal, and it’s a big part of the journey that this album represents.”
Dubbed “the Teenage Bottlerocket of the Great White North” by The Punk Site, The Real Sickies fuse the raw power of Ramones-core with melodic hooks that could just as easily resonate in crowded punk venues as on alternative FM radio.
Written between thunderous international tours, late-night demo sessions and chaotic live performances, Under a Plastic Bag is a work brimming with raw, high-energy anthems. Tracks like “Wild Imagination,” “Should Have Seen It Coming” and “Triage” showcase the band’s ability to create catchy choruses and sharp songs, combining the simplicity of The Ramones with the wild edge of Teenage Head, the melodic drive of The Buzzcocks, the quirky, off-kilter energy of Devo and the melancholy intensity of The Sound.
The recording process
of Under a Plastic Bag was as intense as the themes the album explores.
Engineered and produced by Joshua Wells (Autograph, Lightning Dust), the album was recorded at Riverdale Recorders in Edmonton during one of the city’s coldest winters. “I was brought in specifically to bring more of a post punk weirdo sound to this record,” Wells said of the sessions.
“Josh flew in from Chicago and came with us to the Little Italy studio in Edmonton,” recalls frontman Ben Disaster. “We sat around with coffee and sandwiches, sometimes only sleeping five hours a night. It felt right – it felt positive, liberating and creative. We had a lot of songs and big ideas, but it all came together in that short, frozen period of time.” The studio itself became a character in the creative process. “We built a fort in the studio to keep warm, drank endless coffee and fueled the long nights,” Ben shares. “The cold and isolation somehow fueled the energy of the recordings.
It was a strangely perfect environment to make a record about chaos, resilience and putting things together.” The result is an album that maintains the band’s signature energy while venturing into new sonic territory.
Tracks
1. Under a Plastic Bag
2. Over Thought About It
3. No Refunds
4. Wild Imagination
5. Destinations
6. Should Have Seen It Coming
7. Summer
8. Triage
9. Never Going Back
10. Taste The Concrete
11. Paralyzed
12. Paulie
13: Choking On Your Insides
14. Lost By a Landslide
Real Sickies’
reputation as a touring powerhouse is unmatched. Having shared stages with punk legends like Stiff Little Fingers, Marky Ramone, and PUP, they’ve taken their music across Canada, Europe, and the UK, performing at festivals and grassroots venues alike.
“This album came together between shows that felt like they were booked by throwing a dart at a map blindfolded,” Ben says. “We even played the full album live in Jasper before we knew how to play it—local punks loved it; management hated it.”
At its core, Under a Plastic Bag
captures the chaos and resilience of the band’s journey. “It takes you through bike crashes, car crashes, environmental events, frustration, sobriety, and putting it all back together,” says Ben.
“We tried to make an album in a time when singles dominate, something cohesive and immersive.” With standout tracks like “Wild Imagination,” “Should Have Seen It Coming,” and “Triage,” and the creative energy behind its production, Under a Plastic Bag is poised to make an indelible mark on the pop-punk landscape.
The album will be available in digital formats and as a limited-edition solid white and cloudy skies blue vinyl LPs—a must-have for fans of high-energy, hook-laden punk rock.
It’s all Greek to me (Article in Greek)
