New York-based duo Lowertown have officially entered a new era, announcing their signing to Summer Shade alongside their highly anticipated album, Ugly Duckling Union, arriving May 22nd. The announcement is led by the single “I Like You Alot,” a rare excursion into romance for the pair that pairs a spry drumbeat with their signature lo-fi, twangy guitar work.

Of the single, the band describe:

[The lead single] was written about the hope of a new crush, and the intoxicating feelings of admiring and fantasising about someone from afar. Loving someone without yet knowing them… This thinking can become obsessive and compulsive, almost like a sickness taking over the body, but maybe not in a particularly bad way.

The project marks a significant reset for Olivia Osby and Avsha Weinberg. After years of relentless touring and creative friction that pushed their friendship to the brink, the duo returned to their roots in Atlanta, Georgia, to rediscover the “makeshift punk communities” that first inspired them. The result is a sprawling, conceptual world designed to combat the isolation of the modern digital age.

Inspired by the world-building of Gorillaz and the community-first ethos of Fugazi, Ugly Duckling Union follows the story of “Dale the duckling” as he and his companions fight back against a tyrannical media corporation. To bring this world to life, Lowertown is bridging the gap between the virtual and physical with a playable Minecraft world, a handbook, plush dolls, and comics illustrated by Doctor Nowhere.

Accompanying the release is an extensive North American headline tour kicking off in April, ending with a major homecoming show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, February 13th, at 10am local time.

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