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Jul 23, 2026 By Caleb Campbell

Tomorrow, Chicago indie rock outfit The Braymores are set to share their new sophomore album, When The Lights Went Out. The band first formed in 2022, beginning as an unexpected reconnection with former high school classmates for vocalist Matt Tilles, guitarist Keegan Melaniphy, drummer Russell Oren, and bassist Connor Kohanzo. The band released their debut album, Who You’d Have Been, in 2024, and have been teasing their latest record this year with a handful of new singles, “Up In My Head” and “Though Control”.

The band describes the album as more akin to dark character portraits rather than straightforward confessionals. “With this album, we explored writing stories about fictional characters instead of ourselves, leaning into a darker and more cinematic tone,” says the band. “We wanted to make their extreme intrusive thoughts feel relatable while creating sounds that capture the intensity, confusion, and emotional complexity of dysfunctional relationships.”

Today, ahead of the album’s full release, the band are sharing an unheard highlight from the record, “Puppy Eyes,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Puppy Eyes” brims with nervy nocturnal energy and playful guitar lines, conjuring up a tone that blends breezy, infectious melody with a darker undercurrent. The track is paced like a well-crafted story, offering easy and placid charms on the surface while steadily revealing more of what’s in store. The band’s surf-tinged guitar licks and bright, hook-laden chorus both imply a vintage lovestruck pop song, but they cleverly subvert expectations. They end the track on an instrumental breakdown full of hard-edge grooves and discordant, off-kilter guitar soloing as the lyrics take on a sinister tone: “Only for a second / Who am I / My thoughts are all demented / Who am I…‘Cause I don’t want to do it, no / I only want to be with you.”

The band describes the track as “A song about a stalker who is obsessed with a person to a point of delusion. The character has some clear mental illness but is not always able to identify it.”

Check out the song below. When The Lights Went Out is out everywhere tomorrow, July 24th. You can also find the band’s upcoming tour dates below.

Tour Dates

7/24 - Washington, D.C. at Songbyrd Music House with Day We Ran

7/25 - Philadelphia, PA at Milkboy with Day We Ran

7/27 - New York City at Bowery Ballroom with Day We Ran

7/29 - Chicago, IL at Beat Kitchen with Evening Elephants (Lollapalooza Afterparty)

7/30 - Chicago, IL at Lollapalooza

7/31 - Appleton, WI Mile of Music Festival

8/7 - Denver, CO at Lost Lake (Headlining)

8/8 - FT Collins, CO at Sound Bar (Headlining)

8/9 - Salt Lake City, UT at Kilby Court (Headlining)

8/11 - Los Angeles, CA at The Echo (Headlining)

8/13 - Santa Ana, CA at Constellation Room with Foxtide

8/14 - Tucson, AZ at Club Congress with Foxtide

8/15 - El Paso, TX at TBD with Foxtide

8/16 - Albuquerque, NM at Launchpad with Foxtide

8/18 - Kansas City, KS at Record Bar with Willis & The Flooks

8/20 - Minneapolis, MN at Fine Line with Willis & The Flooks

8/21 - Chicago, IL at House Of Blues with Willis & The Flooks

8/23 - Detroit, MI at El Club with Willis & The Flooks

8/25 - Athens, GA at Georgia Theatre with Foxtide

8/26 - Birmingham, AL at Workplay Canteen with Foxtide

8/27 - Pensacola, FL at Handlebar with Foxtide

8/28 - St. Augustine, FL at Cafe 11 with Foxtide

8/29 - Gainesville, FL at Heartwood Soundstage with Foxtide

9/1 - Wilmington, NC at Reggie’s 42nd St Tavern with Foxtide

9/2 - Norfolk, VA at The Annex with Foxtide

11/1 - Indianapolis, IN at Hi-Fi with The Bends

11/5 - Madison, WI at High Noon Saloon with The Bends