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Mar 22, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

LA-based band The Small Calamities has returned with their new single “Fairy Lights,” premiering early with Under the Radar. The band first formed in 2015 as the brainchild of songwriter and producer Charlie Wolf before filling out the lineup with bassist Christian Kalafut and drummer Hayden Parker. Since debuting in 2019 with the synth-heavy hooks of designer heartache the band has returned, now sporting the upbeat pace and relentless hooks of pop punk on their upcoming record, MOMENTS OF IMPACT.

Those same hooks are the indelible core of The Small Calamities’ latest single, “Fairy Lights.” The twinkling tangled guitar work, driving drum fills, and shout-along chorus are all pure pop punk, yet the band fills out their sound with some unexpected depth as well, adding the low melancholy tones of pedal steel and subtle swelling horn arrangements. Meanwhile, Wolf’s lyrics equally conjure the heartrending poetics of The Front Bottoms and Springsteen-esque imagery of grimy hotel rooms and doomed lovers. Wolf is the impassioned center of the storm, delivering a performance that is alternately aching and defiant, leading the band in a stirring, crowd-raising anthem.

The band says of the track, “We wanted to write something people could shout along to and we’re really stoked about how infectious and relatable the chorus on this one is. Also, this might be the first pop-punk song ever with a pedal steel.” Check out the song below and watch for MOMENTS OF IMPACT, out April 9th.