Five years after the release of Twerp Verse, Speedy Ortiz returned last month to call out picket-line crossers with the simmering-yet-upbeat single “Scabs.” Turns out there’s more where that came from—today the band is announcing their fourth LP Rabbit Rabbit with another new track weeding through the ethics of fair labor called “You 02.” Leaning further into their grunge origins than the previous track, which more closely hewed to Twerp Verse’s pop sensibilities, the new single contemplates the ever-present issue of idols with questionable ideologies.
“Mostly when I’ve met my musical heroes, they’re kind and principled people,” Dupuis shared in a statement, explaining that the song’s title references a season of the Netflix series You that felt pertinent to the lyrics. “But occasionally someone whose work I love(d) reveals themselves to be anti-union, or anti-‘woke,’ or some other gear-grinding ugliness. That’s who I wrote ‘You S02’ about, the song’s frenzied guitar and synth solos mirroring the crazymaking intensity wafting off people who act like that.”
Arriving with the track is a music video indebted to “woke”-ism urtext They Live, with the band rocking way more glamorous sunglasses to learn the truths behind the artists glowingly written up in the press. Something, something, something, play bubblegrunge and kick ass—and they’re all out of patience for the systems that made “bubblegrunge” a buzzword in late 2021.
Check out the video below, and pre-order the record here.
