The Astronauts are back with something warm, fuzzy, and emotionally direct. “More Than Friends,” the new single from the transatlantic duo of Benjamin Fox and Gordon Cooper, is out now on Flip Flop Records, and it captures the overwhelming, slightly terrifying moment when a friendship tips into something deeper and more consuming. Listen here.
The band frames the song with real clarity. “‘More Than Friends’ is a song about falling deeply into someone, moving beyond the innocent phase and into something more intense and consuming. It captures that overwhelming moment when emotions hit you all at once, bringing both panic and ecstasy. It’s about finding the confidence within yourself to take that leap.”
That combination of panic and ecstasy is exactly what the track delivers, a fuzzed-up, loved-up piece of indie songwriting that understands young love not as a simple thing but as something that demands genuine courage to pursue.
Fox operates out of Detroit, Cooper out of Ireland, and the transatlantic collaboration has been a defining part of The Astronauts’ creative identity since the project began. The 2 also work together under the name Irish Lights, an ambient instrumental project inspired by the timeless beauty and solitude of Ireland’s lighthouses, and run Sleeping in Space LLC, a boutique Detroit-based label dedicated to independent and forward-thinking music.
“More Than Friends” follows earlier single “Ease Up” and arrives with a new album promised later in 2026. Two musicians building something across an ocean, one carefully crafted song at a time.