Chewing through a gauzy blend of 90s-tinted driving guitars, ethereal vocals and glimmering melodies, ‘Surprise’ arrives as another glimpse into Laveda’s awaited second LP A Place You Grew Up In, due early next year.

Bringing to mind the likes of Alvvays, Soccer Mommy, Big Thief or My Bloody Valentine, the track is a hazy slice of feel-good dream-pop with a bitter sting in its tail. ‘Surprise’ is gauzy and glittering with sun-drenched rhythms — but its lyrics take a darker turn.

Jake Brooks explains: “The lyrics are meant to juxtapose the happy sunshine feeling throughout the song. ‘Surprise’ is about dealing with loneliness and loss in this modern age. The overall sound represents how bright and happy we present ourselves on social media. But in reality, everyone’s depressed and stressed over the rapidly devolving state of society.”

With murky, despondent lyricism at odds with its upbeat aura, the track taps into the listlessness and loneliness that comes along with young adulthood. Vocalist Ali Genevich adds: “”Sonically, ‘Surprise’ is the bright song on the new record. Lyrically it embodies a lot of my personal feelings that came after I graduated from college in the same year the pandemic hit. I couldn’t help but feel low for a while, and once I came out of my writer’s block everything I wrote had this big sad mood.”