Sydney pop-punk band Stand Atlantic have officially announced their fourth studio album, entitled Was Here. The album is set for release on Friday, August 23rd via Hopeless Records. To coincide with the album’s announcement, the band have shared a new single from it. The single, ‘GIRL$’, features PVRIS‘ Lynn Gunn and Mexican artist Bruses.
“I feel like the message of the song speaks for itself,” said lead vocalist Bonnie Fraser in a press statement regarding ‘GIRL$’. “[I grew] up knowing I was attracted to women, but still feeling like I had to fit the mold of the male gaze. I hope other queer women and women in general resonate with this track, but also anyone in-between.”
Speaking of her collaborators, Fraser noted that having both Gunn and Bruses on ‘GIRL$’ “made it so much more meaningful”. “[They are] both female, queer and talented artists [that] I respect so much,” she said.
An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Brandon Lung, has also been released. The video was filmed in Sydney while Gunn was in Australia as part of last year’s Good Things festival – which Stand Atlantic also played. It features Fraser and Gunn dressed up as elderly women.
Stand Atlantic feat. PVRIS and Bruses – ‘GIRL$’
“Lynn [and I] both had the same idea independently of each other,” said Fraser of the music video treatment. “I’m sure people expected us to be selling sex and queerbaiting the shit out of this – so we did what any rap video would do, but as old ladies.”
Was Here, produced by Stevie Knight, will also feature collaborations with Polaris (on ‘Criminal’) and Sueco (on ‘Nose Bleed’). It serves as the official follow-up to the band’s 2022 album F.E.A.R., whose title was a backronym for “fuck everything and run”. The band released two singles in 2023, ‘Kill[h]er’ and ‘Sex on the Beach’, which was followed with the anti-bullying track ‘Warz0ne’ earlier this year. All three songs will appear on the album, alongside ‘GIRL$’.
Pre-orders for the album, including both “cloudy red” and glow-in-the-dark green vinyl colour variants, are available now via ArtistFirst.
Further Reading
Love Letter To A Record: A Swift Farewell’s Sarah Bonnet On Stand Atlantic’s ‘Pink Elephant’
For Fans Of: Stand Atlantic | Introducing: Sydney’s Bellwether
