Two tracks in one day is a bold move, but when you’ve got three billion career streams behind you and a ninth studio album on the way, you can afford to be generous. Dirty Heads have today shared Better and Sound Boy Killa, the latest previews of 7 Seas, due 12th June via Better Noise Music — and the two songs couldn’t be more different from each other, which is precisely the point.
Better is the warmer of the two — a hopeful, Nashville-tinged track that arrived almost fully formed. “Sometimes writing songs can be difficult,” says vocalist Duddy B. “But every now and then a song just pours out of you. That happened with ‘Better.’ I think we all needed this one.” Percussionist Jon Olazabal adds that the song is a reminder to move forward with love and compassion — a message that feels particularly well-timed right now. It comes with a video worth watching.
Sound Boy Killa goes somewhere entirely different. Singer Jared Watson had the vision locked in before recording even began — a collision of Jamaican DJ clash culture, UK garage bass sonics, Dirty Heads hip-hop drums and reggae influence. “I wanted the song to slap hard, be dynamic for the live show, and also be fun and not too serious,” he says. The result is one of the more genuinely interesting sonic experiments the band have pulled off — grimy, playful, and unmistakably them.
Both tracks follow lead single Seven Seas, which has clocked 3.1 million streams since release, and One of Those Days, currently sitting at number 14 at alternative radio. The 7 Seas tracklist also includes features from Sophia Lynn and IRAH, and the full ten-track album rounds out what is shaping up to be another evolution for a band that has always refused to stand still. Formed in 2000, their platinum-certified Vacation found a whole new generation through viral culture, and No. 1 alternative radio hit Rescue Me cemented them as genuine genre heavyweights.
The band also recently partnered with ocean conservation organisation 4ocean — frontman Jared Watson joined the team for a shoreline clean-up at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, with the collected plastic recycled into a limited Dirty Heads 4ocean bracelet available alongside a premium vinyl edition of the album.
This summer they head out on a co-headline tour with 311, alongside headline dates and festival appearances including Red Rocks Amphitheatre on 25th June. A full and extensive US run follows through August.
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