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Slow Pulp have announced their third studio album, Melodie, due out September 18th via ANTI- Records. The Chicago-based indie rock band has also revealed the project’s lead single, “Better Man.” Stream it below.
Slow Pulp are an outfit we’ve had our eye on for a few years now, and they crafted Melodie in a space of reflection. While lead vocalist and guitarist Emily Massey usually writes the group’s lyrics, this project was boosted by her bandmate, guitarist Henry Stoehr, who wrote five songs on this record. “Emily and I were reconnecting with how we wrote together when we first met,” Stoehr said in a statement. Alex Leeds (bass) and Teddy Mathews (drums) round out the rest of Slow Pulp, a band’s whose collective output is as insightful as it is downright entertaining.
Slow Pulp worked with producer Elliott Kozel (Rosalía, Björk, SZA, Yves Tumor), which was a new experience for the band, as Stoehr had previously produced every Slow Pulp album on his own. Relinquishing control was a challenge that Stoehr ultimately accepted. According to a press release, “The production collaboration of Kozel, Stoehr, and Massey led to a record that balances power-pop euphoria, acoustic heartbreak, and the ocean of sound between them.”
Leeds offers a poignant perspective of Melodie, which he says is ultimately about returning to the past. “There’s the sense of a full circle, tapping back into things and transforming through them,” Leeds said.
Written by Stoehr, the thrumming and rambunctious lead single “Better Man” is buoyed by colliding percussion and anthemic guitar, which give way to a soaring vocal performance by Massey. “Did I fuck it up again?” she sings brazenly. “Maybe leave it to a better man/ Who can tell himself this is how it’s supposed to be.”
“In my mid-20s, I entered a phase in my life that felt really stable,” Stoehr shared of the song’s meaning. “I had felt so turbulent emotionally up until that point and I desperately wanted to feel that I deserved to experience that. Naively, I thought that I could just extinguish that kid that fucked up all the time and couldn’t control himself. This song is me both letting go of control but taking control of myself in a new way, and accepting myself for who I am, and hoping that can be accepted by everyone else.”
Watch the accompanying music video, directed by Ben Turok, below.
Slow Pulp are kicking off their North American tour on October 16th at Delmar Hall in St. Louis, followed by dates in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and NYC. Tickets are available for purchase via StubHub.
Melodie Artwork:
Melodie Tracklist:
01. Yellow and Green
02. These Days
03. Better Man
04. Melodie
05. Red Car
06. Not for Nothing
07. Entertainer
08. Like Me
09. Spill
10. Up to You
11. Slip Away
Slow Pulp 2026 Tour Dates:
10/16 — St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall %
10/17 — Omaha, NE @ Slowdown %
10/19 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre ∞
10/21 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Grand at The Complex ∞
10/23 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall ∞
10/24 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox ∞
10/27 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ∞
10/29 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ∞ !
10/30 — San Diego, CA @ Quartyard ∞
10/31 — Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom ∞
11/03 — Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall ∞
11/04 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s ∞
11/05 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Downstairs ∞
11/07 — Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ∞
11/08 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ∞
11/09 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club $
11/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer $
11/13 — New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount $ *
11/14 — Boston, MA @ Roadrunner $ *
11/16 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall $
11/17 — Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall $
11/19 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed $ +
11/20 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue $
11/21 — Madison, WI @ The Sylvee $ #
% = w/ Feller
∞ = w/ Snuggle
$ = w/ Her New Knife
! = w/ Goon
* = w/ Ivy
# = w/ Graham Hunt
+ = w/ Current Union TM
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