Boston's Gollylagging Tackle Friendship's Messy Endings on New Single "Jackknife"

Photo credit Renee Newman

Boston DIY indie rock quartet Gollylagging are back with "Jackknife," a new single out now that finds the band sitting with something most people would rather not. The slow, painful unraveling of a friendship.

Over layered electric guitar riffs and vocals, the four-piece lean into a lighter, more melodic sound than some of their heavier work, landing on a very catchy chorus that earns its emotional weight. Vocalist and guitarist Jake Regulbuto describes the song as being about "the aftermath of friendship fallouts. You can want the best for people but know your relationship to them can't be the same as it used to be." It's an honest, if not unglamorous, look at something most people have experienced and few want to write songs about.

The band, which includes Regulbuto, lead guitarist Jules Skiffington, drummer Andrew Garas, and bassist Joey Lorant, recorded the track in six hours before spending considerably more time revising the mix to get it where they wanted it. The accompanying video, directed and edited by Lorant, captures the band goofing around in a local park, a deliberately light visual contrast to the song's heavier subject matter.

Gollylagging have been building steadily in the Boston scene for several years, drawing comparisons to Dinosaur Jr., Swirlies, and Pile while blending shoegaze, bedroom pop, punk, and alt-country into something that feels like their own. "Jackknife" follows their well-received single "Bronco" from earlier this year and continues a run of releases that have been quietly cementing their place in New England's indie rock landscape.

They'll bring the new material to Brighton Music Hall in Boston on June 19th alongside Dino Gala, warmachine, and clifford, before heading to For The Record in New York on June 20th with Carrying and Wulfer.

Check out Gollylagging’s new single here and get your tickets for their Boston show here.