Enormous fuzzy power chords immediately give ‘Bottle Rocket’ its weight, moving at a slow, plodding pace with a slight shoegaze haze before quieter verses make space for Kalia Storer’s beautifully dreamlike vocal. Wistful and nostalgic, her relative calm provides a striking contrast to the crash-heavy drums and distorted guitars that repeatedly surge back into view. Rather than steadily building towards a climax, the song moves between these softer and heavier states, with lovely melodic guitar work and subtle chord changes adding to its sense of something half-remembered.

That feeling carries into a visualiser filled with fireworks, funfair snapshots and people partying, evoking fragments of a hazy Fourth of July summer without constructing a fixed narrative around them. As the closing track on Daniel Loves Mandy Forever, ‘Bottle Rocket’ already carries an unmistakable sense of finality — a memory launched into the distance, still visible even as its exact shape becomes harder to make out.

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Kalia Storer’s vocal is the undeniable centrepiece, floating effortlessly above layers of fuzzy guitars with a dreamy softness that perfectly complements the band’s shoegaze leanings. Rather than erupting into towering walls of sound, Crush remains beautifully restrained, allowing its shimmering textures and hypnotic melodies to gradually draw the listener deeper into its world. It’s a subtle approach that makes the song all the more absorbing.

The accompanying video captures that same dreamlike quality with muted colours and quietly surreal imagery, wearing its Mulholland Drive influence proudly while carving out an identity of its own. Cinematic and wonderfully off-kilter, it feels like the visual equivalent of the song’s hazy atmosphere, with Storer bringing an effortlessly magnetic presence throughout. ‘Crush’ is another captivating glimpse into Growing Pains’ richly immersive sound, proving that sometimes the most powerful songs are the ones that never feel the need to shout.

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Built on fuzzy yet melodic guitars and anchored by Kalia Storer’s dreamy vocal delivery, ‘Drive’ channels the hazy charm of ’90s alternative rock and shoegaze. The song carries a sense of movement throughout, perfectly capturing the feeling of watching the world drift by from a car window while your thoughts wander elsewhere. While there’s an undeniable sense of nostalgia woven into the track, its warmth and sincerity prevent it from feeling distant, making Drive an instantly inviting listen.

Speaking about the song, guitarist Carl Taylor explains: “When I moved back home from college I had to drive across town to my girlfriend’s house. It was only a 25 minute drive, but I thought there was something somewhat romantic about living on different sides of town and driving across the river to get to her place.”

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‘Swimming’ is as an immediate and streamlined guitar pop track with the melodic heft to read like a lost early oughts alternative radio hit. Recalling ’90s icons like Liz Phair and Julianna Hatfield as re-imagined by Joyce Manor, the single is an immensely promising first statement from an ambitious young band determined to meet their moment.

Kalia Storer says of the track: “This song is about the helpless feeling that comes from being romantically incompetent. I wrote it after going on a date and they put their arm around me and it felt wrong. I left and went to the airport to watch the planes fly and drink a beer on my truck. Then all of the words came to me—this was the night before our last day of recording.”

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