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Jan 31, 2025 By Caleb Campbell

Alt pop duo FINKEL are back today with their new EP, Grows Back Thicker. The record’s title refers to the songs’ main theme, with each track referring to different ways bandmates Jane and Brian Spencer have grown a thicker skin over the last few turbulent years. Fans last heard from the band with the release of their 2022 sophomore album, Islanders, followed by a remix EP the following year. The pair teased the record last year with their lead single, “I Tried,” and today they’re sharing the EP’s accompanying two new tracks, “Cry Baby” and “Father Time,” premiering with Under the Radar.

Each track on the three-song EP takes new angles on the band’s sleek and forward-thinking style of alt pop, all knit together by entrancing hooks and anxious lyrical undercurrents. The result is a careful balance of textures and moods, otherworldly in one moment and infectious in the next. The chilly opening track “I Tried” sees Jane and Brian trading off vocals above skeletal rhythms and buzzing sub-bass, eventually locking into dreamy harmony as the guitars and synths thrum. In contrast, Brian’s vocals dance around a pulsing chopped beat on “Cry Baby,” delivering a plaintive and crystalline counterpoint to the blistering rap verses from Blimes and Lando Chill. Finally, the record closes on a moody and existential turn with “Father Time.” The band’s glassy hook gives way to a hypnotic verse from Jane and a textural ambient portion filled with dreamlike instrumental fragments.

The band says of the track, “Our experiences in the last 5 years have been incredibly formative. We’ve lost 12 people in the last 2 years. Our losses, the 2020 pandemic, the 2025 LA fires, and the current US political climate have given us a lot to learn and grow from. In comparison, people go through things far worse. It’s a beautiful human trait to grow thick skin from difficult experiences. It ultimately leads to a kinder, more empathetic heart. It’s also reflective of our resolve. These 3 songs have been carefully crafted over the last 2 years, inspired by life experiences we wanted to share with you. We hope these tunes resonate with whoever is open to listening.”

Stream the Grows Back Thicker EP below, out everywhere now.