It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Places To Hide were making waves and turning heads, well on their way to becoming one of Atlanta’s most surprising success stories. A scrappy young band playing earnest, hook-laden punk screeds, the group had come out of relative anonymity to sign with respected indie Tiny Engines and was soon busy garnering praise from all corners of the blogosphere. But here we are less than a year later and it’s all, sadly, coming to an end.

Earlier this month, the band announced they were dissolving and would soon be releasing their final LP, Strange Lyfe. Much like their sudden ascent, the news came out of nowhere, leaving fans — ourselves included — shocked and disappointed. However, to help alleviate some of the hurt, Places to Hide have left us with a parting gift. Two gifts, to be exact. Taken from their upcoming album, both “B. Murphy” and “Punk Vacation” come and go fairly quickly, but together they show off the full range of the band’s talents — fuzzed-out squalls of lo-fi guitar commingled with driving jangle punk rhythms and narcotic slacker pop hooks. If the group was suffering any internal conflicts, they certainly did their best to hide their troubles. On the surface, these songs glide along almost tension-free, a little less ragged perhaps that their previous material, but still given to the low-key explorations of nostalgia and youth. Even when Kyle Swick repeatedly admits “I can tell something is bothering you” on “Punk Vacation” it’s from the vantage point of a disaffected young man trying to cope with the uncertainty of growing up, navigating relationships and finding his place in the world. It’s more faded and dazed than conflicted, more bewildered than bitter. In short, it’s yet another gloriously messy coming-of-age jam that embodies everything we’ve come to love about Places To Hide, and we couldn’t be more stoked to premiere these two tracks for you this morning. Listen below.

Strange Lyfe is out September 20 on Irrelevant Recordings. Pre-orders are available here.

More Info
Bandcamp: placestohide.bandcamp.com
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Places-To-Hide/263034510404551
Tumblr: placestohideband.tumblr.com