New Me is a synthy new wave psych-pop group from San Diego fronted by Spooky Cigarette member Jacob McWinney. Last year, they unveiled a terrific debut 7″ featuring the brooding uptempo track “Something Green,” and followed that up earlier this year with a pair of singles – “Three Channels Apart” and “But Myles.” Now they’ve unleashed another new one, the bright and shimmering dream-pop jam “Civilian Stuff.”
Featuring warped synths, effervescent production, pulsating basslines, and propulsive percussion, “Civilian Stuff” chugs along with a sense of wonder and bittersweet melancholy. McWinney’s crisp, deep vocals drip with emotion on the track’s glitchy soundscapes, highlighting the vividness of the lyrics. According to the group, the track is “a fleeting glimpse into the minds of four people aboard a flight in the moments following a hypothetical catastrophe…looking down on the destruction, each of these four passengers processes the catastrophe differently yet they all, on some level, are broken.” Overall, it’s a strange and introspective premise for a song, yet the group manages to channel all of these mixed emotions into a tight, poignant and catchy synth-pop tapestry. Along with “Three Channels Apart” and “But Myles,” “Civilian Stuff” will appear on the New Me’s upcoming debut LP The Best Thing The Old Can Do For The Young Is To Die. No word yet on a release date, but when that album drops, we’ll be sure to bring you full coverage. In the meantime, check out “Civilian Stuff” below.
