Single Lash Return With Lush New Single “Now for the Real World”

Single Lash came out of the Austin music scene in a fervor of shimmering guitars, Goth romanticism, and a knack for repurposing the “college rock” sound of the 80s and early 90s. Not repurposing in a way that felt derivative in any way, but somehow channeling the magic of bands like Catherine Wheel, The Cure, The Smiths, and Ride to give us something wholly their own and unique. Something very much only Single Lash could create.

Contouring the vast, open expanses of the southwest and “Big Sky” country into something more existential, thoughtful, and awash in emotion is the true magic of Single Lash. Frontman and main songwriter Nicolas Nadeau channels emotions – both emanating from joy and loss – into something we can all relate to. He does it through melodic heft and instinct. Even in the darker tracks there’s still a melodic craft involved that gives the songs hope in spite of a sort of spiritual anxiety we all feel on a daily basis these days. Along with Neil Lord on guitars, Bacio Notzon on bass, and Rodolfo Smith-Villareal III on drums, Single Lash have become a musical force to be reckoned with.

I came to Single Lash back in 2018 with their album Providence. Taking an almost shoegaze approach to the music, Single Lash and Providence reclaimed that sort of hazy romanticism of shoegaze and dream pop(think the softer edges of My Bloody Valentine with the dreaminess of Cocteau Twins and the breathy vocal delivery of Catherine Wheel’s Rob Dickinson.)

The band followed Providence up with 2023s excellent Ladida. Ladida was brighter production-wise; lush synth textures rounding out the band’s tight sound and bringing to mind contemporaries like Wild Nothing and Craft Spells. Single Lash were a band locked in together, and Ladida proved that.

Two years have passed and Single Lash have returned releasing brand new single “Now for the Real World”. Here’s what the band says about “Now for the Real World”:

“Produced in collaboration with Dan Duszynski, whom the band worked with on their
previous album Ladida, the guys are totally enamored of overdriven guitar textures-
swirling around and punctuating singer Nicolas Nadeau’s trademark croon in the verse-before it all explodes into a massive chorus, showing off broader vistas than Single Lash has ever explored before.“

“Now for the Real World” is a glorious, lush rocker. Guitars buzz in jagged harmony and shimmers from the beginning sounding more Smithereens than the Cure. But once the foundational rhythm section of Bacio Notzon and Rodolfo Smith-Villareal III come in the song is free to soar. Chaz Costello of jangle pop band Sculpture Club accompanies the band coloring the track with lush synth touches and vocal harmonies. Nicolas Nadeau’s vocals sit at the forefront in earned confidence and melodic intent. He sings with strength, yet still has that tenderness we’ve come to know. And Neil Lord gives his guitar a proper workout, channeling everyone from Johnny Marr to Peter Buck to Concrete Blonde’s secret weapon James Mankey.

The song ends in a glorious wall of feedback, driving headfirst into the beautiful sonic world Single Lash have created here.

In these confusing, maddening times we’re living in we need bands like Single Lash. They give us the sonic beauty we need in order to get through day to day. “Now for the Real World” is the vibrant, buzzing sound needed for these times.