Red Vanilla are channeling some serious desert-rock energy. The Dundee alt-rock newcomers have revealed their new single “I Thought I Had It,” out now, the final track shared ahead of their second EP ‘Where I Should Be,’ also out now and their first new material since the critically acclaimed 2024 debut ‘Days of Grey.’
The single was recorded with producer Kieran Smith in the spare room of lead guitarist George’s Dundee flat, which the band have turned into their own small home studio. The Queens of the Stone Age influence is no accident. “I was listening to a lot of QOTSA ‘Songs for the Deaf’ and that record inspired this song a lot, especially the ending heavy outro,” George explains. Vocalist Anna adds that lyrically, the song is about “the draining loop of chasing momentum as a band, thinking you’re finally getting somewhere, then hitting another dead end.”
Since forming during the pandemic, Red Vanilla have made an impressive early name for themselves, pairing a dense, guitar-driven sound with ’90s-inspired pop-hook vocals. Their 2024 EP ‘Days of Grey’ earned a rush of tastemaker support from CLASH, VISIONS, The Skinny, and more, marking them out as a bold new Scottish voice. They’ve shared stages with Beach Riot and Redwood, opened for Dea Matrona and Kyle Falconer at Camden Underworld, and have recently been picked up by Placebo’s management team, even completing a short headline tour of Thailand during a writing session. It’s a polished, radio-ready taste of a band gathering real momentum.
Where I Should Be EP Tracklisting:
- Electric Blue
- Hazy
- Ask Her If She’s Happy
- Play Me Something New
- I Thought I Had It
- Sunkissed Pools
- Oh No, I Got Older