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Oct 20, 2023 By Caleb Campbell

Vancouver-based indie punk outfit Night Court debuted in 2021 and 2022 with a tight, scrappy, and lo-fi pair of records, Nervous Birds! One and Too, before returning earlier this year with a third full-length album, HUMANS! Later this month, the band are keeping that momentum going with a new EP, Frater Set, an EP of Halloween-themed tracks perfect for the height of spooky season. They’ve already shared early singles “The Bride of Frankenstein” and the blisteringly short “Little Darkness,” and today they’re back with another new track, “Haunted House,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Haunted House” is another shot of punk adrenaline, full of crackling distortion, churning guitars, and charmingly lo-fi production. The band cut their songwriting down to the barest essentials, keeping things short and sweet while enlacing the track with a sugary garage pop edge. Bursts of jagged feedback and catchy vocal melodies intermingle in a careful balance of indie garage pop and punk, leaving a messy scrawl of irresistible hooks. The resulting track hits like a struck match, burning fast before quickly fading out. Yet, in the time between, the band also plays with the typical imagery of a haunted house, imagining suburban malaise as its own kind of curse: “Dad’s always on his phone / Mom’s almost never home / The kids have screens for eyes…”

Band member Jiffy says of the track, “What’s scarier - screaming at your kids or ignoring them by handing them a phone? Trick question! They’re both haunted.” Fellow bandmate Dave-O continues, noting “Normal houses are much scarier than actually haunted ones.”

Check out the song below. The Frater Set EP is due out on October 31st via Dromedary Records. Pre-order the EP here.