A new EP containing unreleased Minor Threat music will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the band’s only full-length studio album, Out of Step. Aptly dubbed Out of Step Outtakes, the three-song EP contains material recording during the original Out of Step sessions in 1983. It will be released on December 1st via singer Ian MacKaye’s Dischord Records.
The sessions that spawned Out of Step Outtakes occurred in January 1983, marking Minor Threat’s first time in the studio as a five-piece band. Experimenting with the new sound, they cut new versions of their songs “In My Eyes” and “Filler,” both previously released on their debut EP, 1981’s Minor Threat, as well as a handful of other tracks. Afterwards, they had blank tape left on the reel, and decided to record an instrumental song titled “Addams Family,” which was ultimately adapted into a coda for Out of Step’s hidden track, “Cashing In.”
The full version of “Addams Family,” however, was sealed in the vault, as were the five-piece cuts of “In My Eyes” and “Filler,” which, according to the EP’s pre-order page, “were never mixed and largely forgotten for over 35 years until the multitrack tapes were taken into the studio to be digitized in 2021.” MacKaye himself mixed the material with Don Zientara.
Out of Step Outtakes will be available to stream on DSPs, as well as on a clear 7-inch vinyl. Pre-orders for physical copies are ongoing.
A year ago, Minor Threat’s Brian Baker spoke with Consequence about the band’s legacy, saying: “My favorite part is how much the band meant to people. Because it was truly an after-school band. And no one had any long-term vision of this band still having so much significance to people so many years later.”
Out of Step Outtakes Artwork:
Out of Step Outtakes Tracklist:
01. In My Eyes
02. Filler
03. Addams Family