chokecherry, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Izzie Clark and vocalist/bassist E. Scarlett Levinson, are thrilled to announce the November 14 release of their debut album Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls. Pre-order it here.
To celebrate this moment, chokecherry release the video for the angular new single "Major Threat."
While chokecherry are known for crafting lush soundscapes, "Major Threat," whose title nods to hardcore legends Minor Threat, is inherently punk rock and gritty, giving fans something they've not yet heard from the band. It's jarring — in the best possible way. The accompanying visual, shot on VHS and delivered in just a few days, demonstrates the important DIY spirit at chokecherry's core.
Watch the video, co-directed by Clark and Whitney Otte below.
"I grew up on heavy surf punk — hello, Southern California — and this track brings me back to 2016-era mosh pits at the Teragram Ballroom in L.A. or the Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara," Clark explains, tearing back the curtain and inviting the listener to fully immerse themself into the experience of the song. "Vocally, I was very inspired by Brendan Yates (Turnstile) and Zack de La Rocha (Rage Against the Machine). The inspiration for the track came from a (fleeting) feeling of being discarded. The accompanying video is co-directed and pokes fun at the hell that is the 21st century dating scene."
Levinson weights in, saying, "'Major Threat' is one of the few currently recorded chokecherry tracks that really allows listeners to dip their toes into our live energy. This includes mosh pits, screaming, and running into the crowd mid-song. It's a direct homage to the scenes that shaped us and continue to do so, calling on inspirations like Turnstile and Mannequin Pussy."
She continues, "Of course, the bridge is packed out with classic chokecherry harmonies and layers, and the track concludes with a last-minute twist. The final lyrics are a nod to the toxic cycle of craving something (or someone) that's rejecting you; it hurts like hell and drives you crazy, but in the end, getting left is probably for the best."
Pulling from essences of their childhoods exposed to rock 'n'roll, adolescent years spent exploring '90s post-rock, pop, indie, alt-rock, hardcore, queer musicians, even metal, and their own young adulthood filled with small shows in the Bay Area from a plethora of artists and genres, chokecherry's debut LP, produced by Chris Coady, Christopher Grant, and Zach Tuch, fearlessly pursues creating a snapshot in time, capturing the sonic culture of San Francisco, the political movements overflowing our senses in 2025, the social deterioration of empathy and humanity in the 21st century, and what it means to be human in a time where it feels like there are so few left. "The album isn't about heartbreak over an individual — some of it is — but it's from the state of the world. That's what it is. It's about heartbreak over the loss of childhood and the imagined future that you might have had when you were young, because that doesn't exist. It's actively been taken away from all of us and everything is being stripped before our very eyes, constantly, every single day," says Levinson.
Within 10 tracks, chokecherry piece together the very essence of what it means to be a sentient being in this cruel world, Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls is a dichotomy in its entirety; introspective and panoramic, tender and intense, personal and social, post-rock and shoegaze, but so is the duality of man. chokecherry encompass all that is severely lacking – empathetic humanity.
chokecherry will embark on their first ever full North American headline tour, with special guests The Sewing Club. The trek kicks off with a West Coast record release show weekend, celebrating Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls with special guests Pure Hex. The California release weekend includes a hometown San Francisco show, in addition to shows in Los Angeles and Santa Ana.
The tour runs through December 21 in Salt Lake City. All dates are below. Get tickets here.
CHOKECHERRY:
NORTH AMERICA — FALL 2025:
WITH GUESTS THE SEWING CLUB:
11/14 — San Francisco, CA — Bottom of the Hill*
11/15 — Los Angeles, CA — Zebulon*
11/16 — Santa Ana, CA — Constellation Room*
11/29 — Phoenix, AZ — Valley Bar
11/30 — Albuquerque, NM — Launchpad
12/2 — Dallas, TX — Three Links
12/3 — Austin, TX — 29th St Ballroom
12/5 – Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade
12/6 — Nashville, TN — Cannery Hall
12/7 — Carrboro, NC — Cat's Cradle
12/9 — Philadelphia, PA — Warehouse on Watts
12/10 — Baltimore, MD — Metro Gallery
12/11 — Queens, NY — TV Eye
12/12 — Cambridge, MA — Sonia
12/13 — Montreal, QC — Cabaret Foufounes
12/14 — Toronto, ON — Hard Luck Bar
12/16 — Columbus, OH — A&R Music Bar
12/17 — Chicago, IL — Cobra Lounge
12/18 — Columbia, MO — Rose Music Hall
12/20 — Denver, CO — Marquis
12/21 — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
*Record Release Show
