Any time a band releases a record, there’s bound to be both excitement and nervousness. But leading up to the release of Pep Talks, Judah Akers of Judah & the Lion was especially antsy. While the band has always been genuine, this record – which delves into divorce, alcoholism, and loss – is their most painful and personal yet. Akers compares it to disparate episodes of a TV show coming out; with the release of Pep Talks on May 3, the full story is out there, and “in the hands of the people that it needs to reach.”