Screaming Newborn Baby is the band's long-

awaited follow-up to The Gift. Finally available

outside of Japan, Screaming Newborn Baby

seamlessly introduces new drummer Zax (The

Bonez), moving the punk trio forward while

honoring late drummer Tsune-chan's legacy.

The six tracks on the EP include Hi-Standard's

take on Ben E. King's Stand By Me, The Mr. T

Experience's Book of Revelation & tribute to their

friend "Fat Mike."

Formed in 1991, Hi-Standard is arguably the most

influential punk band to emerge from Japan,

widely credited with pioneering the country's

melodic hardcore and skate punk scene. Singing

primarily in English, the trio-comprising Akihiro

Namba, Ken Yokoyama, and the late Tsuneoka-

caught the attention of NOFX's Fat Mike, who

signed them to Fat Wreck Chords and launched

them onto global stages like the Vans Warped

Tour. However, their domestic impact was even

more profound; through their own label, Pizza of

Death Records, and their self-created Air Jam

festival, they built the infrastructure of the modern

Japanese punk scene. This grassroots empire

helped them famously sell over a million copies of

their masterpiece, Making the Road, entirely

independently.