When asked about how he feels about UltraBomb’s latest, punk rock legend Greg Norton simply says, “This is one of the best recordings I’ve been a part of.” When Norton, who was one-third of Hüsker Dü, one of the most influential punk bands of all time, says his new record is a career highlight, it’s worth paying attention.
UltraBomb’s latest, The Bridges that We Burn, is already well-positioned to be one of the year’s pivotal rock records. The lineup of Norton on bass and backing vocals, drummer Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, and Adolescents), and Ryan Smith of Soul Asylum on guitars and vocals delivers a blast of a record that balances righteous anger with catchy punk, which has been on repeat since my first listen.
You can hear echoes of the band members’ past projects, but this is a wholly exciting and rewarding listen that doesn’t rely on reputations to command attention, filled with energy, melody, and provocative, unfiltered political stances. The songs on The Bridges that We Burn are designed to get people talking and inspire action, but life in Minnesota earlier this year made it even more urgent to respond in the face of tragedy.
“Our second single for the new album came out the day before Alex Pretti was murdered right across the street from where we were recording,” Norton tells PopMatters. “It was difficult to say, ‘Hey, come listen to our new song’ with everything that was happening,” he says.
Norton was moved to see the response in the community. “They trained 30,000 legal observers, and that made a huge difference. ICE has left the metro area, but they are still in the suburbs and smaller towns. People blowing whistles and participating in demonstrations helped, and so did the neighbors helping each other, showing support by doing things like picking up groceries and getting kids to and from school. This administration said retribution was coming to Minnesota. They are cutting Medicaid due to the ‘fraud investigation’ that revealed nothing. They are grabbing kids at school. But the community came together to fight back,” he notes.
Norton took a 14-year break from music after Hüsker Dü, throwing himself into the restaurant business and becoming a chef. Still, he couldn’t stay away, and as you might imagine, he was getting plenty of offers. “Punk rock has saved my life at least a couple times,” he notes. “Playing music with Dave King as part of The Gang Font 2002 reminded me that music is a huge part of me. It brings me so much joy.” From there, Norton also played in the band Porcupine.
Finney McConnell pitched Norton on UltraBomb. The original trio was McConnell, Norton, and Jamie Oliver. “Working on those first two records brought me back to the early Hüsker days of collaboration. The music just came naturally. Finney, Jamie, and I made two records that I am really proud of.”
Unfortunately, work visa issues forced Oliver out. “We needed a drummer who could tour the United States, so he was replaced with Derek. Finney decided to leave the band, too. I felt that it was best to tour with bands who draw to get us in front of audiences we could win over,” he says. “I was friends with Ryan, and he jumped in to do a show with us at the Turf Club about a year ago in St. Paul. I told him if he wanted the gig, it was his. I am so lucky with this new lineup. Ryan is a great songwriting partner. He has moved the band forward. We are not a nostalgia act.”
Norton does have to share Smith with Soul Asylum, though, and that can complicate touring. “We are hoping to get out in May, August, and September. Ultrabomb is still making a name, so it’s a challenge. We will do some headlining and to do direct support for bands that draw. It’s a process,” he says.
For The Bridges that We Burn, Norton went back to some trusted partners and locations. “John Fields engineered, produced, and mixed,” he highlights. “He lives in Minneapolis and works out of Studio B at Creation Audio. Studio B’s first recording was [the Hüsker Dü classics] New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig, and Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse were recorded in Studio A. It was really cool to get back to that room and just a joy to work with John. He mixes on the fly and has a great ear. We did it in five days and had final mixes two weeks later.”
Thematically, The Bridges that We Burn is a potent mix of the personal and the political. The title comes from a line in the opening track “Darwin Awards”. Eight of the songs were written last summer, before everything that happened in Minnesota with ICE earlier this year. “Everyone burns bridges. Sometimes you need to, sometimes it’s not intentional. It fits, as far as marching into the future with this new version of the band and these songs goes.
“I wanted to speak to the times,” Norton continues. “We worked on the record in August and went to the studio in October. I was inspired by what was going on with ICE in Portland. I had been thinking about how the media doesn’t tell us the whole truth, and how people are in echo chambers of sycophants spinning a narrative that doesn’t match reality. ‘Divert/Deflect’ was written a few years ago, but it still fits. ‘Zombie Heroes’ from early last year. Even that silly song fits with the others. The whole album points to a poignant picture of where we are today.”
“Music can hopefully get people to think and start conversations,” Norton notes. “Punk rock is always about inclusivity. Everyone’s welcome unless you’re a bootlicking Nazi. It’s important to fight for marginalized people. Look at the insane sabre-rattling from this administration. They started a war for oil on top of all of the other bullshit. All of it is designed to distract from the Epstein files, which need to become Epstein trials. We don’t care who’s in the files. It’s happening in Europe, so why not here?”
Norton is unfazed by those who don’t like UltraBomb’s message. “If people don’t like what we are doing, they don’t have to listen to us,” he declares. “Music and art bring joy to people. We need those to keep us sane. We all need to pay attention and voice dissent, keep the resistance going. Saying something like ‘I don’t do politics’, that’s a choice, too. Historically, 90% of the population in Germany stood by. You need to do whatever you can to let people know what’s happening. It will affect everyone eventually. If you don’t like my politics, you can listen to Kid Rock.”