Exclusive Premiere: Matt Jaffe and the Distractions, ‘Blast Off’ EP

Based in San Francisco, 19-year-old Matt Jaffe was first discovered by Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison at an open mic night. Since then, Jaffe has perfected his modern take on rockabilly, new wave and indie pop-punk-rock, fusing them together for an unforgettable listening experience on his brand new EP with the Distractions, Blast Off.

Set for release on April 21, Diffuser is beyond excited to partner with Jaffe and company to give you the five-track disc in its entirety -- take it for a spin below.

"Over the years, I've become increasingly intent on combining concision and energy, and hopefully these songs exemplify that goal," Jaffe tells us about Blast Off. Beyond the album's energy, Jaffe and the Distractions incorporate "unique, specific language and imagery without making any words sound awkward or jammed into the lyrics."

As for the recording of Blast Off, Jaffe says the band did far fewer takes than anyone anticipated. "Our producer, Matthew King Kaufman, had a vision, but didn't always share it since sometimes knowing his vision would have obscured our role in simply playing the songs," he says. "So some of these songs are literally just first takes, which I find quite thrilling. There is some post-production, obviously, from a few vocal fixes to guitar overdubs, but many of the songs are largely unchanged from the first time we played them in the studio."

It wasn't just the recording process that moved quick. The EP's opening track, "Stoned on Easter," was written in just a day. "I got the idea for that song on April 19, the day before 420 and Easter coincided [in 2014], so efficiency in writing was unusually critical," Jaffe recalls. "I recruited a friend to help me record it so I could release a demo version of it on the 420/Easter convergence date."

Marking Jaffe's debut EP, he's obviously excited to share this new collection of work with the world. "I love how sequencing and album artwork can inform a listening experience and I hope that we will only continue to hone in on how to best present our songs to our audience."

Jaffe is set to hit the road in support of Blast Off in the very near future; you can pick up a copy of the EP when it hits the streets on April 21. In the meantime, along with the EP, we're excited to share Jaffe's latest music video for "Put Your Finger in the Socket" and a live performance of "I Wanna Be Cruel" below:

Stay up-to-date with everything happening in the world of Matt Jaffe and the Distractions at their official website.