There’s very little room to breathe on the forthcoming debut album from Boston four-piece Superdown, something the quartet aren’t especially concerned about—you have time to take stock after you’re finished with it, not during. Emotive and passionate, it helps that it’s also got hooks to burn. Racing through 10 songs in 32 minutes, Return to Sender is powered by an urgency that demands you sit up and listen, and one of the best examples of this ethos is the album’s third single, “Backbone.”

It makes for a great intro to the band, who waited to finish the album before showing their hand (though early versions of some songs popped up on 2021’s Live @ Pete’s House EP) and thus only released their debut single two months ago. A song about standing up for yourself in the face of the daily grind, it’s a vital part of Return to Sender, yet it could easily have been left off the record, according to drummer Corey LeBlanc. “At first we weren’t really sure how this song would fit in with the rest of the album,” LeBlanc shares. “It starts with an easygoing ’90s groove that gives way to a driving burst of energy, [because] periodically something does push you to sprint forward and reach for something better. It’s a great song to listen to when you need that kick in the ass speeding away from the office at 5 p.m.”

It’s a great song to listen to at any other time of day, too. Check it out below, and look out for Return to Sender when it drops October 20 via Count Your Lucky Stars Records.

Boston punks Superdown formed in 2020, debuted in June of 2021 with an EP that they recorded live at their friend Pete’s house (called Live @ Pete’s House), and they played their first public show the following month. Now they’re gearing up to release their debut album Return to Sender on Count Your Lucky Stars. Release date TBA, but they recently put out lead single “Alright,” and we’re now premiering second single “Rattle” and its video. Superdown make gruff, melodic punk in the vein of stuff like Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, and Iron Chic, and they pack some serious hooks into all their grit.

“‘Rattle’ was one of the first songs we wrote together as a band in 2020, so we’re stoked that it became our first music video,” drummer Corey LeBlanc tells us. “Also, a little impressed we made a suburban Victorian appear totally abandoned without any interference from a Homeowner’s Association. But we want to assure you that no plastic flamingos were harmed in the filming of this video.”

Check out the new song/video and the previous single below, and stay tuned for more on this LP.

Massachusetts’ Superdown is the newest signing for the revamped Count Your Lucky Stars. The four-piece dropped a tantalizingly brief three-track over two years ago, and they’ve been quiet ever since. Thankfully, that ends today. We’ve got an exclusive premiere of the band’s first-ever studio single, a crisp and summery indie rock jam called “Alright.” It wasn’t on Live @ Pete’s House, but the band has indicated it’ll show up on their debut LP, slated for release this fall.

The song is bright and driving, perfect for a cruise down the highway. Press materials compare the band to a cross between Samiam and The Gaslight Anthem, and I can hear it the vocals, for sure, and there’s a bit of heartland grit to the riffs, but I lean more towards the nostalgic indie rock of a band like Curtail. Superdown is similar in the way that they feel like throwbacks more in terms of vibe than sound, per se–it’s a great song that builds on its influences, doesn’t succumb to them. Give “Alright” a listen below.