California punk rockers Tsunami Bomb, one of the breakout bands from this year's Warped Tour, will enter the studio in January to start work on their third album.

"We've written three new songs," says singer Agent M. "After we finish our European tour [with the Bouncing Souls], we're going to start tracking."

The Petaluma-based band recently finished touring the U.S. in support of its second album, The Ultimate Escape. In a year populated by screamo bands, Good Charlotte clones and musicians somehow connected to Tim Armstrong (see Rancid, the Distillers, Transplants, Pink), Tsunami Bomb represented something unique in the punk rock realm: smart, upbeat guitar pop with a hint of New Wave keyboards, surrounding a female vocalist with a stunning voice.

While being a girl-friendly band has helped Tsunami Bomb stick out from the punk rock masses, it's also had some drawbacks. "I thought it was sad on this year's Warped Tour -- hundreds of bands, and we were the only band with a girl," says M. "Even now, kids hear about us, then they find out I'm the singer, and they go, 'I don't even want to listen to that.' Because I'm a woman, they assume it'll suck."

Tsunami Bomb formed in 1998 from the ashes of a few garage punk bands. The first incarnation of the group eventually landed a deal with Checkmate, an indie label run by AFI bassist Hunter Bergan. A few 7" singles and two albums followed -- their most recent release, 2002's Escape, finds the band dropping some of the keyboards and added a slightly metal element, most notably in the anti-sellout anthem "Top 40 Hit."

"That's about my personal issues with mainstream radio," says M (who refuses to reveal her real name or how she got the nickname). "The whole idea really bothers me. You don't have to be a good band to be on there."

To tide over fans until their next album, the band contributed a cover of "Planet, Schmanet, Janet" to the Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show tribute album. Other bands on the compilation include Alkaline Trio, the Ataris and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

KIRK MILLER
(December 8, 2003)