50 seconds of madness. Three legends. Uncompromising punk.
Listen here: https://youtu.be/dfEwuEjBeis
The fourth single from the debut album Closer (release date: 25.07.2025 on Rookie Records) by THE EXTRAS is a huge surprise! THE EXTRAS ignite a 50-second firework of images, associations, and pop culture references with "G. Masina." The song is a psychotic introspection, a wild ride – uncompromising, direct, and in the best sense: old-school punk.
"Faces on the ceiling" evokes boundary experiences – depression, delirium, madness, film trauma. "Gelsomina," the heroine played by Giulietta Masina in Fellini's masterpiece La Strada, represents the externally controlled emotional self – but also tenderness in a brutal world.
It is a special honor for the band to have collaborated with three absolute legends, whose influence on songwriter Elmar Freels has been significant, for this track:
Greg Norton is much more than just the bassist of Hüsker Dü – even though that alone makes him a cult figure. What many do not know: Norton was also heavily involved in the band's songwriting and contributed significantly to the development of the post-hardcore and alternative sound of the 80s with his powerful, melodic bass playing. Hüsker Dü were never just loud – they were complex, emotional, and brave, and Greg Norton was a creative driving force. Today, he is back on stage with his new band Ultrabomb – THE EXTRAS had the honor of supporting them in Cologne.
Sonny Vincent (Testors) plays all the guitars – raw, cutting, incredibly intense. Sonny, a legendary founding figure of punk and hardcore, delivers a performance that explodes somewhere between Chuck Berry and nitroglycerin. The fact that this man already catapulted music history in a new direction in 1976 at CBGB’s with his band Testors alongside the Ramones, Patti Smith, the Dead Boys, Johnny Thunders, and others is not a chapter from a museum, but an extremely vibrant fact – how amazing would it be to experience him live in Europe once again?
Jamie Oliver (UK Subs, Anti-Nowhere League) gives the song its pulse with brutal precision and unwavering drive. For over a decade, Jamie was the rhythmic backbone of the UK Subs, touring the world, playing countless shows – and with his uncompromising style, he has become perhaps the most explosive drummer in the British punk scene, with a long list of great punk bands he has worked with and continues to work with. With his band Fantazmaz, he is currently causing a stir in street punk.
THE EXTRAS themselves sing – exclusively and with a lot of personality in the chorus. The lead vocals by Elmar Freels are raw, flickering, demanding – a collective cry that oscillates between loss of control and ecstasy. This collaboration is not a nostalgic bow, but a statement: punk lives!
