“It’s not like me to forgive and move on/ Always looking back on my mistakes,” Brendan Lukens sings on the “Apple Cider I Don’t Mind,” one of two songs we’re getting from Modern Baseball’s forthcoming Holy Ghost today. The Philadelphia band has spent two (soon to be three) albums and a great EP excoriating themselves over past faults, turning over situations in their head until something resembling order emerges from all the stray thoughts and begins to make sense. Or they just throw up their hands and say fuck it, like they do on “Apple Cider”: “Is this past or present? I can’t seem to make it all out” is the central conceit the song hinges on, and the immutability of that question is channeled into one of Modern Baseball’s most crystal-cut tracks yet. Lukens regrets some past betrayal, and questions how that factors into the band’s preoccupation with the idea of forever (whatever forever!), ending on: “They say this is forever/ Tell me this is forever,” even though it’s clear it’s already over.

“Everyday,” which is paired with “Apple Cider” as the record’s dual lead singles, is as slow-burn as the band gets, and echoes the same sort of concerns over the slog of eternal life: “Waking up everyday is all about doing things you don’t want to do,” goes the kicker, coming at the end of a song rife with moody religious allusions and subtle relationship power plays (“Look me in the eyes and act like I don’t know how shame works,” says one particularly sticky line). But instead of feeling defeated by that sentiment, MoBo sound preemptively hopeful: “You’re rewarded — you get to wake up.” OK, maybe not entirely hopeful, but they seem to think all the hardship will be worth it in the end. Hopefully it is.

Holy Ghost is split into two halves, one each curated and influenced by the band’s Jake Ewald and Lukens, respectively A and B. “Everyday” comes from the Ewald side, while “Cider” is from Lukens’. Listen to both tracks via NPR below.

Tour Dates (w/ Joyce Manor, Thin Lips):
05/25 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
05/27 Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
05/28 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
05/29 Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey
05/31 Phoenix, AZ @ The Pressroom
06/01 San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues
06/02 Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
06/03 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
06/04 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
06/05 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
06/07 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne
06/08 Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
06/10 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
06/11 Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
06/12 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
06/14 Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights
06/15 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
06/16 St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room
06/17 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
06/18 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
06/19 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
06/21 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
06/22 Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
06/23 Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
06/25 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
06/26 Philadelphia, PA @ The Filmore
06/28 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
06/29 Richmond, VA @ Broadberry
06/30 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
07/01 Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
07/02 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
07/03 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum

Holy Ghost is out 5/13 via Run For Cover. Pre-order it here. They also have their own coffee and hot sauce!