Absentees pack a large sonic punch on All the Hertz: Volume 1.

The Detroit band features turbocharged instrumentation and explosive vocals on its latest EP.

“We just left it at that,” said Matt Gawne, a vocalist-guitarist for Absentees.

“We did it live. We recorded a second guitar, and then we recorded the vocals. [Engineer-producer] Jon-Mikal [Bartee] came over to my place with a bunch of microphones, and he just set up where we were. It was awesome for him and awesome for us.”

All the Hertz: Volume 1 is an awesome experience for listeners as well. While it’s only 16 minutes long, the punk EP’s scorching electric guitars, thumping bass, and thunderous drums energize fans across seven tracks.

“It all came out great, thanks to Jon-Mikal [Bartee], too,” said John Quillen, the band’s drummer. “He put a nice touch on it, and he knew what we wanted to go with. He gave us a sound with a more modern recording.”

In addition to its edgy sound, All the Hertz: Volume 1 covers a variety of themes, ranging from trauma to toxic jobs to new relationships.

“The most emotional song I’ve ever written is ‘Sensational,’ said Tony Dunn, a vocalist-guitarist for Absentees.

“It’s about somebody close to me who tried taking their own life, and fortunately, is still here. I’ve never written anything that personal … and I think it really shows on that song. Usually, I make up stories, but every now and then, I give a little piece of [me].

Now, Absentees continue to evolve their punk sound with Brandon Manoyian, the band’s new bassist.

“I play on a five-string bass, and I come from another band that plays in a lower tuning,” he said. “Playing with John and playing with everybody else, it’s been a different, but phenomenal experience, and everything flows and goes together.”

I recently spoke with Absentees about their latest EP ahead of a December 6 show at The Rex Theater in Morenci, Michigan.

Q: How did the band form in 2009 and evolve from there?

Matt Gawne (MG): Technically, it would have been the end of 2009 when we started practicing out of the ashes of our old band. It was Tony, John, John’s cousin, and me. John’s cousin was the frontman, but he left. We started writing songs, and we played our first show in 2010. We were together for a few years back then, and then we got back together in 2021. It worked out because it had been 10 years since we had played. It’s much more fun this time, too.

Q: What inspired the band’s name?

MG: I remember we had quite a few songs before we even had a name. I thought, “Let’s not rush it,” and ultimately came to the conclusion that Absentees [was a band name]. I said to the guys back then, “Well, I barely made it through high school.” We were all like truant guys, and we weren’t showing up for anything. We were all unregistered voters at the time, so it was a long time ago. I thought, “This [band name] seems to make sense.” It’s so old, why change it at this point?

Q: Brandon, how did you become part of the band?

Brandon Manoyian (BM): When they first started to come back around, I was able to go out and see them, because at that point, they were still a three-piece. Already being a fan, I’ve known John for quite a while. I’ve been in bands over the years that he’s helped out, and he really showed us the ropes. To come back full circle, and now I’m playing bass with them. It’s phenomenal to go from fan to literally playing with the band.

Q: How do you see the band’s sound changing?

Tony Dunn (TD): We were a three-piece, and we had someone else for a while. Brandon meshes well with us, he plays well with us, and it’s a real treat.

MG: [Having Brandon] has opened up the doors quite a bit. There’s a lot more we can do now that we have the extra guitars. We don’t really like to repeat ourselves. It’s fun to challenge ourselves and think, “We’ve done this kind of song before. What else can we do?” We’re following the muse, too, and when we get an idea, we try to grab it when we can. As a four-piece now, we’re the kind of band that likes to do things. I like it when we’re all contributing something instead of having a primary songwriter. It’s much better when multiple minds attack and form something that we never could have thought of on our own.

Q: In 2024, you released your self-titled album, which has 18 tracks. What did you learn while working on it?

MG: It took a long time … and it’s something that we stray away from now. In the vein of never repeating ourselves, our first two albums were pretty quick. I remember the first one we recorded in a weekend. We threw it up, and one of our friends was funding it. It was a go-go-go kind of thing. For the second one, John said, “Let’s take our time with that,” so we spent a little more time on that one. And by [the third album], we said, “Let’s throw everything at it. Let’s record, let’s put keyboards on it. Let’s do all kinds of weird stuff. Let’s really take our time.” And that was fun, but I wouldn’t want to do it again.

For the [third self-titled album], it was all overdubs. We recorded it live together to get the drum sounds over everything. There are an incredible number of layers. There’s one song that was recorded with 10 different guitar tracks. We were giving the engineer, the guy who was producing us, our good friend Ed [Sertage], who used to run [The Woodshed Studios], a lot of room. He has a lot of credit on that album, too. We’d say, “Give us your ideas. If you want to try something, let’s do it.” He recorded a lot of big things.

John Quillen (JQ): That one was the first time we recorded all the songs, and they were all very fresh versus the one we recorded before that. Not Alone had songs that we wanted to record, but we had broken up. It was cool coming into it and thinking, “These are going to be new songs that nobody’s heard.” We can all agree that [the third self-titled album], we spent way too much time on it. Once we finished it, I felt really proud of that one.

TD: It was the first album with fresh stuff, and it wasn’t the old stuff. It was saying, “Check us out! Let’s just deliver as many songs as we can. Let’s keep going.” And with All the Hertz: Volume 1, I thought, “People know who we are. Let’s just make something.” I felt like with the self-titled [album] we had to bring something new, and All the Hertz was just riding that wave.

Q: On All the Hertz: Volume 1, “Canine and Incisor” explores the anger associated with animal cruelty. How does this song help you channel that emotion?

MG: It’s actually from the perspective of two dogs. One is named Canine, and the other is named Incisor. It’s about animal abuse, and that’s one of the few things that can make me see red in the world. In one verse, it says the dog is locked in the car, but it breaks [out] and mauls the owner a little bit.

It’s a little violent, but it’s about a couple of dogs that broke free from bad owners. There’s nothing super personal with that, but I remember what sparked that. Someone in a group chat was talking about it, and I have a friend who installs cable. He told us some people had taken their dog and put it in the car, and the dog died. I’ll [hear about] that stuff, and I’ll think, “OK, my day is ruined now.” And then I thought [for this song], “How can I spin this?”

Q: “5 to 9” examines the challenges of working a toxic job. How did writing this song help you confront those struggles?

MG: I did the chorus on that one, and then Tony and John came up with the verses on it. It was originally a song we were doing with Tony’s brother years ago, and I just really liked playing it. He would say, “I’ve been working from nine to five,” and I later switched it to: “I’ve been working from five to nine.” [At a previous job], that was the shift I got stuck doing one day—but never again. The shift was from five in the morning until nine at night. It was a long day. That song was about not putting myself through that kind of abuse for work.

Q: “I Can’t Surf” explores knowing and understanding your limitations. How did a surfing experience spark this song?

TD: It’s just about being a goofball. I’ve never tried to surf, so I literally can’t surf. I had an awesome riff that came together really quickly, and I took it to practice. We jammed on it, and I thought, “It sounds like a fun riff, and it’s got fun vibes.” I wanted to write something that matches those fun vibes.

Q: “Closer to You” highlights the start of a new relationship. How did a romantic partner inspire it?

JQ: That was one that I had. I tend to write a lot of my songs about personal stuff. It’s about my girlfriend, who I’m with now. It’s about falling in love, and it has that Paul McCartney “Silly Love Songs” [feel to it]. I was writing it down, and Tony took it and just built it up.

Q: What plans do you have for live shows in December and January?

JQ: We’re heading out to The Rex Theater in Morenci on December 6, and we’re gonna play with The Famousers and The Pizazz. We like getting outside of our comfort zone. On January 2, we’re going to [play at] Lager House, so we’re excited for that. Troy Toma, who was drumming with Trash Brats, has a solo project. He reached out to us to be a part of [the show].

Q: You’re currently working on All the Hertz: Volume 2. How is that coming along?

JQ: I think it was Matt’s idea for us to combine two separate [releases]. We’ve never really done that before, but it makes sense. It feels like these songs are going to belong together. It will be cool to have a part one and a part two.

MG: We weren’t certain on that at first. We were toying with the idea of leaving it at [All the Hertz: Volume 1] intentionally.

In the studio, this is how we’ve been since day one. We like to be well-rehearsed, so we know exactly what we’ve got. We have six songs this time. The idea is to get the recording done in a day or so, and then Jon-Mikal [Bartee] will do the mixing and the mastering. He’ll be tweaking it for a while. We did the recording [for All the Hertz: Volume 1]—the heavy lifting—and then he took over. He was in contact with us for quite a while, and he’d say, “Here’s a mix. How do you like this? Or do you want me to change this?” We’re mostly consulting at that point.

TD: It will be our first album with a four-piece. All of our other recordings are with a three-piece.

BM: I’m excited to add my own twang to things, but having played and listened to these guys for years, I get to be a part of it now.

Absentees perform December 6 with The Famousers and The Pizazz at The Rex Theater, 235 West Main Street, Morenci, Michigan. Doors are at 6 pm, and the show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $15.