Kevin Bronson on August 5th, 2022

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Atta Boy released their first album 10 years ago, when members of the indie quartet were teenagers. Then they went silent, as they matriculated to other endeavors such as college and, notably, acting (you’ll recognize some of their surnames from that industry).

The foursome — Eden Brolin (vocals), Dashel Thompson (piano), Freddy Reish (guitar) and Lewis Pullman (drums) — returned in 2020 with the album “Big Heart Manners,” a predictably more mature but not quite fully formed take on their folk-pop sound.

They returned this week with the new single “Boys,” an old-school (i.e., guitar driven) indie-pop song about friendship. “We’ve known each other for so many years now, it’s easy to look back and realize how much I’ve tended toward taking this process of working and growing up together for granted — whether it be at a distance or in the same room, making something we’re ultimately going to just let go of as a little unit,” Brolin says. “These guys are really important to me, as much strife as there can be at times, and I didn’t want to risk never saying very loudly that these experiences and relationships are not a given and you never ever know when those little special moments where you feel alive and willing and confused and scared and weird with each other are going to be over for whatever reason. I’m not trying to be fatalistic, but time with people that make you feel solid and full is really very fucking precious.”

Adds Reish: “It’s truly a snapshot of our friendships with each other and our commitment to growing up together as a band and friends. All of us traversing new milestones and hurdles knowing that in the end we always have each other to lean on.”

As Brolin sings plaintively: “I don’t get run down ’cause I know that I’ve got you guys / Never know the deal between here and goodbye.”

||| Stream: “Boys”