Pretty Rude release new single & video "The Caller"

Pretty Rude (members of Jimmy Montague, Perspective, a lovely hand to hold) release new single & video "The Caller"

Debut Album Ripe Out This Friday, May 16 on SideOneDummy Records

Watch: "The Caller" video on YouTube

Stream: "Call Me, Ishmael" on All Digital Platforms

Watch: "Call Me, Ishmael" video on YouTube

This Friday, Brooklyn-based band Pretty Rude will release their highly anticipated debut album, Ripe, via SideOneDummy Records. The record was produced by the band and mixed by Jake Sinclair (Weezer’s White Album) and mastered by Zach Weeks at God City. Ripe will be available digitally and as a limited-edition vinyl and can be pre-ordered now.

Today, the band sharing the album's final pre-release single and video, “The Caller.” The track debuted at Flood Magazine and will be on all streaming platforms on Friday.

About the song, frontman James Palko says:

'The Caller,' musically, stems from my love of those big theatrical choruses on records like This Is Hardcore by Pulp, mixed with slacker rock verses and amp noise dropouts from bands like The Rentals, pulled together with call and response style vocals from classic rock bands. Lyrically, it’s a conversation with yourself, your past self maybe, personified as a grifter who conned you into continuing on in a career in music based on false hope. That sort of 'wait a minute, you told me this would all be fine' realization that you’ve been lying to yourself through it all. When you’re feeling up, you convince yourself of all these great things coming your way, and when you’re down, suddenly that optimistic voice is long gone, and you’re left holding the bag wondering how you let yourself be duped. The conversations between myself, another version of myself that I can blame for all my shortcomings appears across the record, 'The Caller' just felt like the best opening to the theme. Sometimes it’s nice to pass the buck.

The song follows the album’s previous singles “Call Me, Ishmael, ” “Things I Do” and “Debbie & Lynn,” available now on all streaming platforms.

Formed in the early days of the pandemic, Pretty Rude began as an “online theoretical project,” as frontman James Palko describes it. With no plans beyond providing a creative outlet amid the end of his other musical ventures, Taking Meds and Perspective, a lovely hand to hold, Pretty Rude quickly evolved into a full-fledged band thanks to the spark of collaboration with bandmate Matt Cook.

There’s much more to Ripe than meets the ear. Its eight tracks stretch over 37 minutes—just 19 seconds more, to be precise—and are packed with meaning, history, literary references, musical tributes, and a flair for the unconventional. The album balances reverence for both the past and present, and while its complex ideas could make it seem daunting, it’s far from pretentious. It’s music made freely, from the heart, by people who understand music’s power.

Ripe is an ambitious and smart record that reveals a chemistry between its members that’s rare for a new band. Pretty Rude was originally conceived as a diversion, a "theoretical project" after the end of Palko’s other bands. “A lot of the songs are about trying to figure out who I am after those projects ended.” It turns out, Palko wasn’t ready to be done with music. Writing alongside Cook reignited his passion, and the project soon grew into something more.

“Going into the studio to make the record felt like, 'This is why I like doing this,'” Palko says. “To process the end of my bands, I dove into writing and demoing new songs, and it’s clear I wasn’t ready to hang it up.”

The result is Ripe, a record that is both intellectually and emotionally engaging, paying tribute to influences such as pop and pop-rock legends Randy Newman, The Beach Boys, and early Queen. It also channels the energy of bands like early, good Weezer and Joyce Manor, especially in tracks like “Call Me, Ishmael” and “Debbie & Lynn,” the latter being an upbeat anthem filled with sass and attitude. Though its joyful pop sensibilities shine through, Ripe also grapples with heavy themes, offering an emotional yet fun listening experience that reflects the chaotic world around it.

“I’ve always been invested in being a tracking engineer,” Palko says. “I enjoy problem-solving and seeing the puzzle come together, step by step. It’s a cool process to create the puzzle as you go.”

Humor is another essential element in the making of Ripe. “When I write, it feels like you should be working towards a punchline,” Palko explains. “It’s not about writing comedy songs, but I try to incorporate humor the way my favorite writers do, like Jarvis Cocker or Randy Newman.” The album is rich with literary references, from “Call Me, Ishmael” (a nod to Moby-Dick) to “Debbie & Lynn,” which draws inspiration from a Billy Collins poem, and “The Unconfidence Man,” a play on Melville’s The Confidence-Man. While the songs are layered with these references, they remain accessible and engaging.

“I’m notorious for not writing choruses,” Palko admits. “But for this record, we made sure every song had hooks. There was a lot of space to expand simple parts in a way that makes them feel more interesting than they already are.”

Ripe is, above all, an album full of surprises. Each listen reveals something new, whether in the lyrics or the music, like an old box that you’ve forgotten about, filled with forgotten pieces of your past. Dive in and discover what’s inside.