Controlled chaos. Those two words perfectly sum up the intensity brought forth by noisy Seattle DIY stalwarts Beautiful Freaks. The band’s pit-inducing live shows have earned them a die-hard following of young clown makeup-ed fans. While they’re known for their off-the-wall and energetic live performances at local punk houses and basements, they’re very aware that there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“I’ll see people stage diving and going hard, but I never see people actively targeting each other,” explained guitarist and vocalist James Bonaci. “Over the years, being very outspoken about safety in the pit and having stopped a couple shows because somebody looked like they took a bad hit… When we’ve done that [during a show], I think it’s really set a precedent of a weird mix of people moshing and stage diving, but also taking care of each other and knowing that the band’s going to advocate for them. No matter how heavy a show is, you should feel safe.”

On occasion, though, the band members’ safety has been sacrificed. Given the nature of our Pacific Northwest weather patterns, sometimes playing a DIY show outdoors with full-sized amps can be dangerous. During one concert, Bonaci said, “The tarp [hanging overhead] caved in in the middle of our set, and out came this huge river of water onto the rig. It shocked me so bad that we had to stop because it split my lip open.”

That captivating balance of perilousness and control is well-represented on their new full-length, We Talk to Birds. Out July 19, We Talk to Birds is a big step for the group, as it’s their first time recording with an actual producer in an actual studio. And it’s not just any old studio. The band spent four days tracking at Seattle’s famed London Bridge Studio, where legends like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Brandi Carlile have made history. And they entrusted the talents of producer and engineer Lilian Blair, who, after being awarded Sonic Guild’s George Reiff Producer’s Grant in 2023, had a nice budget to work with.

“You could feel the iconicism when you walk in those doors,” vocalist Meg Hall said. “All the history that was made in there was really beautiful. As soon as we were out, I was like ‘I just want to go back.”’

After years of being described as a band you have to see live to fully appreciate, Beautiful Freaks finally have an album that truly captures both the fury and the fun of their sets. 

“This is a band who transforms, which I think is one of the biggest strengths of any artist,” explained Kennady Quille, host of KEXP’s local music show Audioasis. “They’re not afraid to veer into any certain direction. I think this new record is definitely a different vibe than their previous releases and live performances, but it just works.”

“We’ve been really flying by the seat of our pants in the past and just trying stuff out by being loud, noisy, and chaotic,” drummer Peter Bryson said. “This was our time to really refine and revise parts and put on our smart musician caps and have better-recorded and better-written songs than we’ve ever really attempted before.”

At times, We Talk to Birds is glimmering, beautiful indie rock, and at others, it’s shrieking, full-throttle hardcore punk, though it doesn’t at all come off as disjointed or awkward. These are wildly talented musicians who can seamlessly blend a little Pavement with a little Slipknot.

“I feel like this record is simultaneously polished and an escalation of everything we’ve done in the past,” Hall said. “We’ve leaned further into the heavy, chaotic sound, and further into the softer, more vulnerable pop sound. But it is all tied together with a pretty little bow that is the London Bridge room sound.”

“It’s like a tree with multiple branches going in every direction,” guitarist and vocalist Cyra Wirth said. “We kind of have a song that’s going in every single direction, further than everything else we’ve done.”

Though confident in their evolution, as the bandmates sat at my dinner table, there was a collective nervous energy in the room as they discussed the album’s release, their upcoming 35-day US tour (which they will complete in a minivan), and the simultaneous hopes and frustrations that come with managing it all on a shoestring budget. We joked about goals as a band.

“I want a Ferrari—a pink one,” Wirth said.

“I want to be in the new Taco Bell commercial,” Bonaci added.

Jokes aside, the band has lofty goals. But a major part of the challenge ahead is having enough capital to embrace opportunities. 

“We got offered to go down to La Bestia Radio in Mexico City, but we couldn’t afford to fly down there,” Bonaci said. “We’ve gotten other offers where we just don’t have enough money yet to be able to handle that. I just hope that we can reach a point as musicians where we’re able to get paid for our craft and be able to sustainably do that.

“We’ve gotten our punk points,” Bonaci added. “We have played the basements. We have DIY-toured. We have done the grinding. I don’t feel like we need to prove anything more. What I want to do is have a bigger platform to uplift younger DIY artists, so they can get into those support slots, and they can grow their careers. I want to be at a point where I can pick openers that I really believe in and really try to uplift them.”

“When you play a house show or a yard show at a college or wherever, you are playing to an audience that has people in it who have never been to a punk show before, or who have never been exposed to the punk ethos,” Quille noted. “That is powerful. You are potentially opening up new doors for people who would have never even thought that door was meant for them. When I was first introduced to punk music and shows, I was obsessed. I think some of that carries over to how this band interacts with their audience.”

They’re just looking to shout their Freak gospel to as large of an audience as possible.

“We have a lot of kids who really appreciate our music, and I think it provides a voice for them,” Wirth said. “We’re Beautiful Freaks. We’re freaks. There’s a lot of kids who are outsiders. I think something that’d be really wonderful is to become a bigger band, so we can do that for kids all over the place.”

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See Beautiful Freaks at Easy Street Records, 4559 California Ave SW, on Saturday, July 20, at 7 pm.