Fall Behind
Surf culture has always lived beyond the beach. It lingers in films, adverts, and the collective fantasy of freedom: a place where time slows and life feels lighter. The Shrubs’ new single "Fall Behind" plays with that mythology, not by offering pure escapism, but by layering it with the unease of reality. Written during a period when the band leaned towards slower, heavier songs, "Fall Behind" marks a deliberate turn to brightness. The upbeat guitar lines are playful and immediate, yet the lyrics wrestle with breakups and disconnection. It is the sound of smiling while carrying weight, a contradiction that feels familiar in an era where being effortlessly cheerful often masks something more difficult. There is nostalgia woven in, too. Recorded through reel-to-reel decks and cassettes, the track channels the optimism of vintage surf rock but makes it wobble, as though memory itself were unstable. The Shrubs use that retro palette not as decoration, but as commentary: the beach is never quite as sunny as the picture suggests, and even joy comes with distortion. In choosing to release this track, the band steps out of introspection and into something more outward-looking, though without abandoning the shadows. "Fall Behind" resonates less as a postcard from paradise than as a reminder of the contradictions of adulthood: the need to appear carefree, the weight of what is unspoken, and the way music can carry both at once.