Hockey Dad have been coasting on their irresistible blend of vintage of C86-esque vintage jangle pop and contemporary indie sounds since their 2016 debut, with the Australian duo’s upcoming Rebuild Repeat LP marking their fourth album working within a framework that’s equally appealing to the guitar-rock heads and a mainstream pop audience. Ahead of that record’s release, the group is sharing another single today titled “Safety Pin,” which refers to the ride-or-dies (rides-or-die?) who prove dependable time and again “when you need someone to listen to you rant, explode, or break down,” the band’s Zach Stephenson explains. “Someone who, without even asking, knows exactly what to say to calm you down and keep you together in crazy situations.”
Musically, the track opens with a fairly somber guitar melody and tight drums before opening things up to a more buoyant chorus. “‘Safety Pin’ started off initially with just a drumbeat and the title,” notes Stephenson. “It quickly picked up speed with the tempo as we were writing it and it got super exciting. My favorite part of the track is the backing vocals in the second chorus. Super fun to record and I can’t wait to play this song live.”
While you’ll have to wait until the band announces another tour behind the new release (they just wrapped up a headlining tour here in the States, though they’ll be traversing their native Australia with Militarie Gun shortly after Rebuild Repeat’s June 14 release), you can watch them play the song in the official music video below.
