Expand<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nRosenstock is featured in the album and is a long-time friend of the band. However, Babcock said Rosenstock doesn\u2019t remember meeting him, despite having met 20 years ago when Babcock\u2019s high school ska band opened for him. Pup and Rosenstock have maintained their relationship for nearly a decade, including playing together and supporting other acts, such as Modern Baseball. Babcock said they\u2019ve also made a tradition of spending every New Year\u2019s together and will hang out when they\u2019re in each other\u2019s hometowns.<\/p>\n
For the band, it was a no-brainer to include him in their new album. The track, \u201cGet Dumber,\u201d was written in Rosenstock\u2019s basement with his guitar and microphones, while Babcock was house-sitting for him. Rosenstock provides backing vocals, but botched a line that was supposed to say, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty f\u2014 obnoxious,\u201d but Rosenstock instead yelps, \u201cAhhhhh, lyrics\u2026\u201d The band, who felt it sounded better and more in the moment, decided to preserve it as it was in the final cut of the album.<\/p>\n
Having Rosenstock around to collaborate during the recording process also served as an icebreaker for the group, who, Babcock said, can get tired of each other pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re best friends, but we also like to make each other mental,\u201d he said. \u201cUsually when we\u2019re writing a record, that\u2019s when tensions are the highest. We\u2019re working together creatively in the jam space every day. It doesn\u2019t always go great for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another person who helped ensure the band wasn\u2019t at each other\u2019s throats during the recording process in Los Angeles was producer John Congleton, who has worked with acts such as St. Vincent<\/a> and Death Cab for Cutie<\/a>. Congleton advocated for trusting one\u2019s intuition. If it felt like the first take was solid, they would move on to avoid getting hung up on perfection.<\/p>\n\u201cJohn\u2019s the best,\u201d Babcock said. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the funniest human beings I\u2019ve ever met, an incredibly talented producer, and we were on the same page about moving quickly, and that was such a liberating kind of experience for us. He was really good about finding what was special so quickly. \u00a0More than anything in this record, you can hear the spirit of the songs and the spirit of the band really clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n