Lansing’s ‘hardest-working band’ is back with new LP

Lansing punk trio Jenn’s Apartment has released its first album in six years, “Eat Rich,” a simultaneously lighthearted and sincere sermon on the current moment in American politics and culture.

But that’s not to say the group has been radio silent since 2020’s “The Bird The Bridge The Wire” LP. It didn’t get the title “the hardest-working band in Lansing” for nothing.

Jenn’s Apartment has put out six EPs (2021’s “Fatboy Forever,” 2023’s “Vampire EP,” 2024’s “Townies” and “Conspiracies Are for Lovers” and 2025’s “Power Trio” and “Vibe to the End of the World”) and a handful of singles, all recorded DIY-style in drummer Justin Pine’s basement and released via the group’s own MiScene Records.

The band’s members — Pine, vocalist/guitarist Roy Kirby and bassist Chris Davis — began writing “Eat Rich” in January and set a deadline of April 20. It was released on that date, on Bandcamp at least, but it still hasn’t hit streaming services due to a copyright dispute.

“They’re saying it’s because they’re detecting that there are samples in our music. We’re a three-piece punk/power-pop band; there are no samples in the music. We have, like, some thunder noises, but I think they tried to say in the first email that we sampled an Isley Brothers song,” Kirby said. “So, you can listen to it on Bandcamp, you can come hear us play the songs live, but unfortunately, it’s not on streaming yet. We like to say it’s a conspiracy theory, that they’re trying to silence us.”

The cover of the album does depict Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and President Donald Trump as hot dogs, running away from an angry mob. And the songs only delve deeper into the group’s takes on billionaires, neo-Nazis, ICE, school shootings and other hot-button issues. Maybe the deep state could be in on it.

“We definitely poked on some controversial topics — not anything really crazy, I’d call it more armchair politics,” Kirby said. “It’s not like a dissertation or anything on ‘Das Kapital,’ but I think just good everyday, every-guy politics.”

The album was influenced by the punk music of the George W. Bush era.

“I was very inspired by early 2000s punk-rock records. It was the Hot Topic era of punk rock, so it was all pretty catchy and polished — nothing was super overly aggressive — but it was definitely still high energy, with lots of tongue-in-cheek satire,” Kirby said. “NOFX’s record ‘The War on Errorism’ was definitely a big inspiration.”

The copyright dispute wasn’t the only hurdle the band encountered while making this record.

“The recording process itself was a little bit of a challenge, because we record very DIY style in my basement, but living in Michigan, it rains, and my basement’s flooded a couple of times,” Pine said. “So, since then, after recording everything, I’ve been trying to update the basement, because that’s where we rehearse and record.”

Now that the record’s out, Jenn’s Apartment is focusing on playing as many shows as possible. The group was recently in Saline and Jackson, and it’s playing its first hometown show “in a while” June 5 at The Green Door.

“Once we run into wintertime, we’ll probably record a few more songs — maybe not a whole album this time, just a couple, just to keep the music coming out,” Kirby said. “It’s usually a good cycle for us to write and record in the wintertime, when the highways are icy, and then when it starts to warm up, and the drives to Detroit and Grand Rapids are safer, we’ll start making our way around for shows.”

It’s a busy schedule, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The biggest thing is that it’s still fun as long as it’s fun to do. Obviously, there are parts that are harder, but for the most part, it’s fun,” Kirby said. “I’ve been doing music since I was 14, and I still like it, and that’s a big thing. We still like each other most of the time, I think, and it’s a great excuse to get together with your friends.”