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Nov 14, 2023 By Caleb Campbell

Chicago indie rock band Midcentury Llama debuted in 2021 with their self-titled record before returning last year with a new single, “November.” Last month, they followed with a shadowy and nervy new track, “She’s Pretty,” teasing their forthcoming sophomore album, No More Bad News, out in March of next year. Today, they’re back with another new track from the album, “Sapphire, Ruby,” premiering with Under the Radar.

In contrast to the restlessness of their last track, “Sapphire, Ruby” is a breezy and blissful effort, soaked in warm instrumentation, bright melodies, and intoxicating grooves. Twinkling keys, bouncing basslines, and chorus-soaked guitars introduce the track before the band rushes into a joyous mid-section, bolstered by swelling gospel organ and vocalist Sam Okrent’s heartfelt vocal performance. The band is sharp and dynamic and the results are at once sunny and frenzied. They ride on a series of shifting tempos and bombastic melodies but they also manage to do so with a sense of charming ease.

Meanwhile, the lyrics take on an abstract scrawl of evocative imagery and insistent emotive weight: “Sapphire, sapphire, ruby/Time is firing from a pistol/Spotlight, see right through me/My mind’s frozen in a crystal.” As Okrent describes, the track is an attempt to capture the mix of emotions drawn out by a sunset. He explains, “A few of our songs have come to some extent out of dreams I’ve had, and this is one of them. In this one I looked up into the sky at a sunset and was overwhelmed by a certain feeling, and ‘Sapphire, Ruby’ is the result of trying to express that feeling.”

The single is also accompanied by a music video, part of a 5-part video series the band are releasing alongside the album. The video series follows a young couple moving in together and explores the joy and miscommunications that can come with the change.

Check out the song and video below. No More Bad News is out everywhere in March of next year.