Melbourne indie-pop band The Stroppies have shared a lively new track titled ‘Smilers Strange Politely’, landing overnight as the third preview of their forthcoming debut album.
One of the band’s more upbeat numbers, ‘Smilers Strange Politely’ adds a touch of surf-rock influence to their hazy, psych-tinged stylings. It’s carried by jangly, fuzzed-out lead guitars, warbling bass and brisk, energised drum fills. There’s no clear lead singer on the song, either, with multiple contrasting vocal tracks stacked together.
It arrives alongside a one-take video shot by Phillip Serfaty, which shows The Stroppies performing the song in a field on the English countryside. It was filmed during the band’s recent tour of the UK – have a look at it below:
‘Smilers Strange Politely’ follows the release of previous singles ‘Up To My Elbows’ and ‘The Perfect Crime’, both of which hit streaming platforms in March. All three tracks will appear on the The Stroppies’ forthcoming debut album, ‘Levity’, which is due to arrive on May 6 via London’s Tough Love Records.
‘Levity’ will follow on from the band’s ‘Look Alive!’ EP, which landed back in 2020 and followed debut album ‘Whoosh’ a year earlier. Since then, they’ve also added Zoe Monk of Thibault and Eggy to the fold on synth and guitar. Monk joins founding members Angus Lord and Claudia Serfaty, along with longstanding drummer Rory Heane.
“The restrictions around COVID really informed the way we made the record,” Lord expressed in a statement. Heane echoed the sentiment, adding: “There was a lot less opportunity to meet and build ideas collaboratively, which is how we’ve worked in the past.
“Instead, ideas were developed in isolation, then shared digitally, developing slowly over correspondence and only bearing fruit when we were able to be in a room together. I think this had a big effect on the songwriting and execution.”
Serfaty, meanwhile, explained how the album’s title was informed by the approach taken to writing the songs that feature on it: “The world feels strange and in turn making pop music feels even stranger. A healthy dose of levity had to be employed in order to find meaning in the process.”