Every artist and band making music in 2025 has to come to a difficult decision at one point or another: Are they musicians or are they content creators, and do they care more about their art or their style? The line between the two has been increasingly blurred in recent years, with musicians forced to step outside their comfort zones and adhere more to the whims of the algorithm and societal trends than any sort of creative fulfillment through the music itself.

The Fool’s Agenda sees this playing out in real time, as do the rest of us, and they’ve understandably had enough of it. The Salem grunge-pop band channels their frustrations into a propulsive new single called ‘Dumb (Take Me Out)’, out now.  

The follow-up to March’s ‘Monsters’ and May’s ‘Feel So High,’ the latest from the cynically whimsical quartet is a dizzying spell of riff-fueled alt-rock rage and will be featured on their forthcoming sophomore album, due out in October. 

“Rock and roll has never been about being cool or trendy – it’s always been misfits making art to feel seen by one another,” say The Fool’s Agenda. “Somewhere along the line, it became somewhat of a popularity contest: Who’s got the best content, the coolest outfits; people looking to be adored as a sense of validation through their art rather than looking for a community and to make a difference with it. It’s really easy to fall into that trap when you so badly want to be successful. This song is making fun of that whole mentality.”

And that it does. As songwriter, lyricist, and powerhouse vocalist Rhiannon Raine blasts through the track with a breakneck delivery that shifts from hypnotic deadpan to confrontational fury, the rest of the band – guitarist Kyle Erickson; bassist Jon Gray; and percussionist Kamryn Bode – backs her up with a punk rock ferocity and frenzied urgency.