Dear Boy Return with Fuzzed-Out Sunburst Single ‘Kelly Green’LA Indie Rockers Channel Britpop Euphoria on First Taste of New Album

LA’s indie darlings Dear Boy are back with ‘Kelly Green’, a hazy, heart-on-sleeve anthem out June 20 via Last Gang Records — and it's a technicolor flash of Britpop nostalgia laced with Southern California soul.

Fresh off their acclaimed 2022 debut Forever Sometimes, the band’s latest cut is the first single from their upcoming sophomore album — and it shows a group reborn. Think Stone Roses shimmer meets Smashing Pumpkins fuzz, all soaked in Echo Park sunshine and late-night confessionals. “Kelly Green is about that breath before everything changes,” says frontman Ben Grey. “It’s the moment before you let the truth out — and not wanting it to end.”

Produced by Aron Kobayashi Ritch (Momma, Snail Mail), the new material was written in just twelve sessions and tracked live in under two weeks — a far cry from the meticulous construction of their debut. This time, it's about energy, instinct, and letting go. “We wanted to make something that only best friends could write,” Grey explains. “Something alive.”

While proudly rooted in LA’s underground scene, Dear Boy have always worn their UK influences on their sleeves — Pulp, Slowdive, Jesus and Mary Chain — but Kelly Green doesn’t feel like a throwback. It’s a bold, beat-heavy evolution of shoegaze and alt-rock, mixing jangly guitars with trip-hop grooves and wistful, melodic vocals. It’s music that’s equally ready for a sweaty basement show or a sun-blasted drive up the PCH.

“This isn’t about retro,” the band insists. “We’re not chasing the past. We’re building our own world.” And if Kelly Green is any indication, that world is vivid, heartfelt, and thrillingly alive.