We Speak Alternative

Die Shiny Turn Resistance Into a Rallying Cry With “Gold Star, Good Citizen”

Published

3 months ago

July 29, 2026

What does a modern anthem sound like? For Die Shiny, it sounds like a room full of people finding their voices together.

The Salt Lake City art-pop band return with “Gold Star, Good Citizen”; transforming themes of solidarity, responsibility, and collective action into a powerful, unforgettable statement.

Moving away from their usual synth-driven, dancefloor energy, Die Shiny embrace a more dramatic and raw sound. Soaring vocals rise above atmospheric guitars, swelling bass synths, and percussion created through synchronized stomping, clapping, and body movement from friends of the band.

Written in a single morning by vocalist and songwriter Callie Crofts, the track quickly moved from idea to reality, making its live debut just days later at a protest on the steps of the Utah State Capitol. Its Independence Day release feels fitting for a song that questions what it means to truly show up for one another.

With “Gold Star, Good Citizen”, Die Shiny don’t offer easy answers. Instead, they create a moment of reflection and a reminder that real change begins when people choose empathy over apathy and community over comfort.

And did we mention the music video? A visual masterpiece that takes the song’s message even further, transforming its emotion and energy into a striking piece of storytelling. Definitely one to watch.

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We Speak Alternative

Dominic Fike Returns With Third Album How To Quit Smoking

Published

21 hours ago

November 1, 2026

We Speak Media

Dominic Fike. Photo via @dominicfike.

Dominic Fike has released his third studio album, How To Quit Smoking, out now through Columbia Records. The album arrived on October 30, 2026, and runs to 15 songs, with Apple Music filing it under Alternative. It is his first full length since Sunburn in 2023 and follows his 2020 debut, What Could Possibly Go Wrong.

The rollout leaned on a run of singles that showed the record’s range. Wallflower served as the lead single, Small Town followed, and Pangea landed late in the campaign, close to the album’s arrival. Fike announced the finished product to his followers with a simple message on release week: album out now. The title, and the hashtag he paired with it, frame the record as a document of habits confronted head on, and the songs move between guitar led confessionals and the melodic pop instincts that made him one of the most watched young artists in alternative music.

Fike was born in Naples, Florida, and broke through at the end of the last decade with a sound that refused to sit in one lane, part indie rock, part hip hop, part bedroom pop. What Could Possibly Go Wrong introduced that blend to a wide audience, and Sunburn deepened it with a more personal, hometown rooted set of songs. How To Quit Smoking now becomes the third chapter, a 15 track statement from an artist who releases albums only when he has something to say. With the record out in the world, attention turns to how Fike will take these songs to the stage, and to which of the new tracks follow Wallflower and Pangea into his live set.