Grubby Little Hands Share New Single 'Surf Lullaby'

Philadelphia-based indie pop group Grubby Little Hands are excited to share new single "Surf Lullaby" and its accompanying video, out now via Side Hustle Records. The video debuted via FLOOD Magazine, who called the song "a minimal, humid, and catchy number that recreates the feel of waves gently lapping at your feet," praising the band for "putting their hats in the ring today for 2021's dreamiest release." Stream the track and its B-side "Lula Fly" HERE, and watch the "Surf Lullaby" video.

"For many songs, the writing and the production are tedious, laborious processes," the band says. "But with 'Surf Lullaby' everything was pleasantly effortless and organic. We started playing our instruments, and the music happened. We sat down with a notepad and the words came right away. Even the title was a temporary description at first, but it just stuck. We wish we could say every song we made was this easy, but this was pretty rare."

"Surf Lullaby" is a lilting tune about a dream's fading images as they are interrupted by the sun, while "Lula Fly," ostensibly a typical pop anthem about a frustrating relationship, finds singer Donnie Felton puzzling over his own family history and weaving it into a fantastical ode to his great grandmother as a young woman.

Philadelphia cult favorites Grubby Little Hands are back with two new singles, "Surf Lullaby" and "Lula Fly." The singles are out now digitally, complete with limited 7" vinyl. The new material offers a glimpse into a new full-length album titled World So Strange (release details TBD).

Songwriters Donnie Felton and Brian Hall began collaborating as music theory and composition students in college. They self-released their debut album Imaginary Friends and followed it up with a six-track EP The Grass Grew Around Our Feet on Good Behavior Records. The band expanded its personnel with guitarist Joseph Primavera and drummer Chad Brown, and with the new lineup produced the album Garden Party which was released on Lefse Records in 2016. Stereogum described it as "deftly dense, switching aesthetics seamlessly and engagingly" and praised the band's "adept timing and command of temperament" as well as the "contemplative, challenging lyrics." The band toured regularly in support of Garden Party, including festival appearances at Valley of the Vapors (2017) and two SXSW showcases (2017 & 2019) before returning to the studio to work on A World So Strange.

The upcoming singles provide a duality which fans of the band will find familiar - a languid dreamscape on one side and an effervescent pop anthem on the other. But the production is notably punchier, due in part to contributions from mixing engineer Mark Saddlemire (Brown Recluse) and mastering engineer Carl Saff (Mitski, Guided By Voices, STRFKR). The band's penchant for generously hook-laden songwriting is also more refined, with the surrealist poetry of Garden Party giving way to a more direct, intimate-yet-cryptic narrative approach on these new offerings.