Rocketship are back, and they're not just digging through the archives. The Portland indie-pop lifers reissued their essential 1996 record A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness for its 30th anniversary, then hit the road for the first tour in eight years. But here's the real moment: a new album called Hurt Feelings is coming.
Lead single "New Threats" proves this reunion has teeth. It's a dreamy, sophisticated update on the band's fuzzed-out guitar pop, the same demure hush that made that '96 debut such a gem. This time they steer it somewhere eclectic, landing in territory shared by their '90s peers, from Stereolab to Olivia Tremor Control.
That blend of warm distortion and whispered melody has always been their signature. Three decades in, they still know exactly how to work it. The track breathes, builds, and rewards close listening.
Longtime fans will recognize the DNA. New listeners get a perfect entry point. Either way, this is a killer return.
Whisper along below.