Ringlets are kicking off New Zealand Music Month with a gritty new single.
“Street Massage” is the latest taste of the Auckland-based post-punk band’s forthcoming album The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time for Walkies), arriving June 27th.
The track charges ahead with gravelly guitar riffs and powerful rhythms, punctuated by Leith Towers’ commanding vocals.
Towers explains, “The song is about a low-wage masseur who plies his trade on the streets of Point Chevalier. It was originally about the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI), and the plight of a clinician in trying to encourage support workers to adhere to mealtime plans and feeding safety protocols. As the song evolved, it became a reflection on the broader struggles faced by low-wage workers in care roles. It highlights the emotional and physical toll of jobs that often go unnoticed and undervalued, despite the immense responsibility they demand. The masseur in the song is an allegory for the overlooked nurturers.”
Accompanying the release is a music video featuring live band footage, with additional appearances from members of Dale Kerrigan, Cruelly, Cold Ceiling, Mullbrain, Awning, and Blunt Dog. Set against the backdrop of an under-construction Point Chevalier, the video incorporates elements of 90s video games, abstract imagery, and hand-drawn horoscopes from 17th-century England.
Watch the clip, directed and produced by László Reynolds, above.
“Street Massage” follows the slower, more atmospheric “Heavenly Wheel” and the zippy, playful “New Life” from 2024.
According to a press release, the highly anticipated follow-up to their 2023 self-titled debut album “conjures mystic visions; takes raucous, unkempt yet solely committed turns, twists, and tiptoes delicately between the absurd and the divine.”
The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time for Walkies) was produced by the band – Arabella Poulsen (bassist, vocals), Arlo Grey (drums), László Reynolds (guitar, vocals), and Leith Towers (lead vocals) – in Auckland at The Lab alongside Michael Logie (The Mint Chicks). Isaac Keating handled mixing duties at Abbey Road Studios.
Following the release of their promising debut in 2023, Ringlets featured in Rolling Stone AU/NZ‘s Up-And-Coming Aotearoa Artists series, where Reynolds described the band’s sound as being “made up of eight equal parts: fun, friendly, sad, scary, dumb, sexy, mad, and hairy.”
When asked about what the band hoped to achieve in the future, Reynolds responded, “Make another (better) album.” Based on the strength of “Heavenly Wheel”, it could be a case of mission accomplished.
Ringlets’ “Street Massage” is out now. The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time for Walkies) is out June 27th via Flying Nun Records and Leather Jacket Records (pre-save/pre-order here).
