The Pooches are an indie-pop quartet that originally began as the solo recording project of songwriter Jimmy Hindle in 2013. The band is from Glasglow, and they share the same unhurried pep that has long characterized fellow natives such as Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub. Yet Hindle deserves credit for staying true to his hometown sound while still standing out for his individual strengths, such as a level-headed, honeydew-sweet cadence and a way of making his vocal tone inseparable from the melody. The band released their delightful debut EP Heart Attack earlier this year and are returning with a full-length later this summer, the first single from which we’re premiering today.

A “Mulligan” is a do-over, essentially a second chance that overrides the first. It’s a term informally tossed around in golf, and occasionally in card games when you draw a poor hand, but is rarely used in regards to relationships. Which is odd, because the term captures so succinctly the tenuous rationale behind getting back together with an ex — that the first time couldn’t repeat itself the second, that history doesn’t predict the future, and that the problem wasn’t the players, but the timing. Thankfully Hindle put together the analogy and gifted us a track perfectly encapsulating the concept.

“Mulligan” is a simple, three-minute reflection of looking again to the past for the answers you still can’t find in the present. Alongside a zig-zagging bassline and a wind-chiming guitar, Hindle forgives a former lover in his desperation of needing somewhere to go. He hasn’t forgotten the messages he wished he had been sent or the feelings he never seemed to sense, but he’s human enough to long for the company in spite of it all. While at first Hindle sings that he’ll feel better if “you will be with me tonight,” he subsequently reveals what he truly desires with a simple switch of pronouns, that he actually hopes “I will be with you tonight.” Sometimes when we feel lonely it’s not really about being with that someone else, but about not being alone. Listen below.

Upcoming Pooches shows:

07/30 Glasgow, UK @ 13th Note (with Vital Idles and Breakfast Muff)
08/06 Glasgow, UK @ The Glad Cafe (with Joyce Delaney and Chrissy Barnacle)
08/19 Glasgow, UK @ Stereo (with Batteries)
09/25 Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts (with Catholic Action
10/05 Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Pint (with Sorority Noise)

The Pooches is out 9/9 on Lame-O Records. Pre-order it in physical or digital formats, or even on cassette.