Shady Bug Announces New Album I wanted to be there
St. Louis band Shady Bug will release their new album 'I wanted to be there' on October 30 via Julia's War Recordings and Bee Side Cassettes.
Shady Bug has announced their new album, I wanted to be there, for release on October 30. The St. Louis band's upcoming LP will be co-released by the Philadelphia label Julia's War Recordings and Bee Side Cassettes, according to a report from Stereogum.
The album marks the band's first full-length release since 2019's Lemon Lime. Shady Bug recorded the project over a 10-day session in St. Louis with producer Scoops Dardaris, a collaborator with bands like They Are Gutting A Body Of Water and Alex G.
Lead Single and Video
The lead single is titled "my night routine." Singer Hannah describes the track as a song initially written in 2019 in her St. Louis bedroom. "The song lyrics describe a summer of turning on the box fan at night and imagining all the words left unsaid," she stated.
The band recorded much of the album live at the Nest, a St. Louis house venue also known as Ripple's house. This is the same location where they recorded their first album, tbh idkat, back in 2017. A music video for "my night routine" was directed by the band's friend Lana Dvorak, who created handmade props including a winged beetle on wheels and a moon.
The Band's Background
Shady Bug has been active in the Midwestern DIY scene for nearly a decade. Their recent output includes a contribution to Strange Ranger's 2020 Bernie Sanders benefit compilation and the 2023 EP What's The Use?.
The new album's lead single underwent significant changes. Hannah revealed there was an earlier version of "my night routine" in 2020, but it was scrapped after the pandemic. She and Ripple decided to rework the song in 2024, adding what she called "a new grungey part and my guitar solo at the end."
Album Tracklist
The full tracklist for I wanted to be there consists of 14 songs. Stereogum published the complete listing.
| Track Number | Song Title |
|---|---|
| 01 | "oh okay" |
| 02 | "worm in the storm" |
| 03 | "i wanted to be there when it happened" |
| 04 | "blinkered" |
| 05 | "basket" |
| 06 | "a truce" |
| 07 | "afraid of the answer" |
| 08 | "seed" |
| 09 | "protect me" |
| 10 | "my night routine" |
| 11 | "high horse" |
| 12 | "misty" |
| 13 | "smokestacks" |
| 14 | "sub dreams" |
Julia's War Recordings, the label releasing the album, was founded by Doug Dulgarian of They Are Gutting A Body Of Water."my night routine" as the first single, concluding her statement with, "It was fun to create :) Thanks for listening!"
