Break Up (EP)

Break Up (EP)

Break Up is the second EP by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released independently in 1992. It was their first release with drummer Mike Felumlee. The EP was recorded at Solid Sound Studio in Hoffman Estates, Illinois with recording engineer Phil Bonnet.

Singer and guitarist Josh Caterer considers the lead track, "Waiting Around", "pretty much the first real Popes song." The material for the band's debut EP, Inoculator, had been written for a previous incarnation of the band called Speedstick, described by Caterer as "a kind of Spinal Tap-esque parody of a punk band." Feeling that "the concept had played itself out and it was time to stop messing around", the band had recorded "the five least ridiculous Speedstick songs" as Inoculator under the name Smoking Popes. "Then when I sat down to write some new songs for the new band," says Caterer, "the first thing that popped out was 'Waiting Around'. I was excited to be getting serious about songwriting, and it was generally an exciting time for the band. I feel like I can still hear that excitement when I listen to this recording." "Waiting Around" was later covered by Tom Daily for the Smoking Popes Tribute album.

All four tracks from Break Up were later reissued on the compilation albums 1991–1998 (1999) and It's Been a Long Day (2010).