Great Northern has shared another preview of their forthcoming album with the release of their climactically searing new song “Bad Light.” It’s the latest in an onslaught of singles from California-based duo Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler — creators of spellbinding mergings of alt-rock and dream pop that echo the ethereal emotional and sonic ferocity of bands like Siouxsie & the Banshees and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
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As the sixth single they’ve shared this year “Bad Light” arrives as an incinerating revelation, confronting the immolating earnestness with which we resist change despite its inevitability and necessity. Surrounded by a luxuriant and intoxicating crescendo of synths and shuddering drum machines Great Northern wrestles rapturously with that innate fear with a blazing conviction. One that burns as brightly as the scintillating sonics and textures that radiate from the song’s resolutely invigorating melody.
“I gotta keel over and over flow,” Stolte concedes in anguish. “And see it and beg it for you / You gotta let it go babe.” The band’s description of the track as a break-up song addressed to the old you is poignantly accurate. Both their ardent lyricism and surging anthemics ignite this call to revitalize oneself when you find yourself in such a crucible — reemerging liberated from all the things that previously weighed you down.
“‘Bad Light’ is when the light is shown on something that you don’t want to see,” Great Northern said of the song. “You’re exposed & there’s no going back. It’s all the ways we turn ourselves inside out to avoid change…it’s all the ways we tighten before we release.”
Be sure to check out some of the previously released singles by Great Northern, including the riff-shrieking “Animl” and spacey but brooding “Champ.” If you’re looking for something a little more kinetic “Run Baby Run” and “Caught Again” are sure to get your blood pumping with their frantic soundscapes.
Visit Great Northern on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to “Bad Light” the new single from Great Northern below!
