glass beach, have released “the CIA.” The track was recorded in Los Angeles, engineered and mixed by the band’s J.McClendon and lead guitarist Layne Smith, and later mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (Code Orange, Title Fight, Movements).

It’s been nearly five years since the release of glass beach’s 2019 debut, the first glass beach album. It has since grown a cult fanbase for its unflinching depiction of queer life as mediated through social media, its oversized ambition, and its scrappy yet adventurous production.

Upon returning from their first tour, the band, eager to work on new material, would find their plans halted by a global pandemic. While trying and mostly failing to make progress on new music over Discord and Zoom calls, they struggled to proceed. They released “1015,” a hyperpop-influenced single about the 2008 recession, wrote the song “running” as a prospect for the third Bill and Ted movie (which would ultimately be rejected), let their fans vote on songs for them to cover, and performed virtual concerts in Minecraft, all while J wrote demos at home.

These demos would finally be realized as the band moved into a house together mid-lockdown to isolate and work. The next three years proceeded as a relentless process of writing and rewriting, always attempting to serve the music and its themes while pursuing originality and avoiding anything that felt like a default choice. “It’s not a matter of, ‘What’s the best decision?’ It’s, ‘What is the decision that only we would make?’” says McClendon.

Order “The CIA” by Glass Beach HERE