By The makeup of the Gray Dens sound is familiarly grounded—indie rock confidently made with an ear towards the recent past. Initially conceived by vocalist Grady Penna by way of a self-titled EP last year, the Orange Country project has a tweaked lineup and new music, with an as-yet-unannounced EP coming later in the year with brother Tyler Penna on drums and longtime Merry-Go-Round Magazine contributor Jake Mazon on bass.
Their new single is the whimsically misty “UFO.” The track feels like a preserved artifact from a bygone blog era when neo-psychedelic guitar music featured sharp pop edges (think: Here We Go Magic, Lower Dens, Caveman, etc.). The fuzzy rhythm section flies through the song like a vintage DIIV cut as Grady cries out above it, the rousing yet melancholy vocal melodies solemnly trying to find home.
“When writing ‘UFO,’ I was thinking about the concepts of impermanence and isolation,” Grady says. “The UFO, a recurring lyrical point in the song, serves as a metaphor for these ideas, representing both a fleeting presence and a search for deeper meaning or connection. When viewed in the context of a romantic relationship, the UFO represents something that feels intense yet fleeting, much like the brief and mysterious appearance of a UFO. There’s a desire to grasp reality and find clarity, but in actuality, the sense of genuine communication between the partners has already vanished.”
You can get a first listen of “UFO” below!
Gray Dens will be playing Merry-Go-Round Magazine’s Ninth Anniversary Show at Permanent Records Roadhouse on Thursday, August 22nd! Grab tickets here, be sure to follow them on Instagram here, and you can go ahead and pre-save “UFO” before it’s full release tomorrow on your streaming platform of choice here!
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