Zane Roessell on February 12th, 2019

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It’s 2019 and L.A. is freezing over, but today busybody pop sophisticates Mini Mansions give you a reason to switch back to the cold brew. The L.A. trio (singer-guitarist Michael Shuman, bassist Zach Dawes and singer-keyboardist Tyler Parkford) have released the new single “GummyBear,” a slinky, disco-infused and dive-bar-dipped romp. “Although ‘GummyBear’ is rather fun and comical, the sentiment and story behind it are quite the opposite,” Shuman says. “At that time, I really wanted to make an all disco record, but I guess this is as close as Mini Mansions gets to being part of the Gibbs family.”

It’s a veritable pop delight with a saccharine-sweet twist that hides something much darker beneath — and the latest single from “A Guy Walks Into a Bar …,” the band’s new full-length (out on July 26 via Fiction). The album comes between the trio’s work in other groups (Dawes plays in the Last Shadow Puppets, Parkford in Arctic Monkeys and Shuman in Queens Of The Stone Age) and is their third full-length since 2010.

It also comes co-produced by Shuman and longtime friend/collaborator/mixer Cian Riordan (who engineered the new Sleater-Kinney record that St. Vincent produced) and features appearances from the Kill’s Allison Mosshart and Z Berg (The Like/JJAMZ/Phases). It also marks the first time Shuman has relinquished his role as drummer, passing duties on to the very capable hands of Queens of the Stone Age bandmate Jon Theodore. “GummyBear” is a refreshingly intimate departure from the band’s previous work. It’s the emotional train wreck to buy first-class for.

||| Stream: “GummyBear”

||| Previously: “Works Every Time”