French Cassettes are one of those SF bands you just pine for more material from. They released their debut album, Gold Youth, in 2013, alongside the Summer Friends EP — both collections of shimmering and brisk, coastal pop songs — before sinking  in to studio sessions and side projects. They’ve still been a been a steady presence at Bay Area concert halls, but aside from “Right Talk” off of Oakland’s OIM Records 2015 Vol. 1 comp, there’s been a dearth of new French Cassettes tunes…..until now.

On the heels of the recently released “City Kitty”, we’re premiering the latest cut from French Cassettes’ long-awaited batch of new songs, “Sunday Soda.”  Predicated on a sleeping giant G note riff, the track unfurls into a feel good jam brimming with the spirit of SF’s  oceanic edges, just as much as that of the breeze within the almond orchards of the San Joaquin Valley, where the song was written and the band is originally from.

Mixed by long-time LCD Soundsystem producer/engineer Eric Broucek, the musical moods of “Sunday Soda” transition seemingly by design, in congruence with singer Scott Huerta’s lyrics.

“I don’t remember intentionally doing this, but the lyrics definitely go from fun…to lonely…to desperate.,” Huerta says. “That’s probably because I start working on songs around midnight and finish the lyrics around 5am. Not really myself by then.”

Never without his wit, Huerta says the song was inspired by two of his favorite Davids: Bazan and Blaine. And as the G note morphs into the pre-chorus building like a magic trick, a silky guitar solo drops and beneath a highly relatable hook, painting that moment when all we’re left with is waiting for someone to meet you on the same page and blissfully accepting the anxiety that comes with it: “I don’t mind..waiting such a long-time…for patience…for three red lights…” We’ve all been there.

Listen to “Sunday Soda” below and go see French Cassettes Friday, Nov 16 at The Chapel on Valencia St with Spooky Mansion and Lapel, who both released notable SF records this year. Tickets here. 

Lead Image courtesy of French Cassettes.