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Sep 22, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Chris Hogge

Brooklyn-based indie duo The Vacant Lots are back next month with their fifth studio album, Interiors, arriving October 13th via Fuzz Club Records. Their forthcoming record finds the band pushing their sound to polar extremes, playing with ethereal synths, striking guitar work, and disco dance beats, all weaved together in a restless blur of stylistic references to ‘80s punk and nightclub music. As the band’s Jared Artaud describes, “I like writing songs you can dance or zone out to. That duality of individual listening and music played in a crowd has always attracted me. A cross between the club and headphones. Music for loners and lovers.”

Artaud and bandmate Brian MacFadyen have already shared a pair of singles from the record, “Amnesia” and “Damaged Goods,” and today they’re back with another new track, “Evacuation,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Evacuation” once again finds the band immersed in the gothic fringes of ‘80s post punk, balancing out propulsive rhythms with searing guitar textures and dark aesthetics. A twitchy dance beat drives the track forward, undergirded by pulsing synths and spiked with jagged bursts of guitars. Meanwhile, the vocals are delivered in an icy laconic lull, steeped in shadow and understated drama. It’s a familiar formula for fans of early post punk, but one Vacant Lots revive with plenty of alluring style and fervent energy.

Artaud says of the track, “Evacuation is about internal conflicts and the duality of love and loss within a relationship. Looking inward and carving out the pain was a mantra for the whole album. You get this moment in time and space to translate complex feelings into the work. It cuts both ways. You’re creating something out of necessity that can also be shared with other people to inspire them or make them feel less alone. That’s what I’m after.”

MacFadyen adds, “This track immediately resonated with both of us early on in the ‘trading demos’ phase of writing the record because of its primitive and raucous aesthetic. It taps into the original DNA of the band.”

Check out the song below. Interiors is out on October 13th via Fuzz Club Records. Pre-order the record here.