“I don’t wanna go outside/ I just wanna stay in here,” Hayley Livingston sings on the centerpiece of Human People’s second EP, Veronica. “I don’t wanna go to your apartment/ I’d have to walk back alone.” The song is about the fear of living in a society that is hostile towards your very existence, and it paints that fear in stark terms: “Every single night, I think about getting murdered/ A straight white man just shooting me up at 2AM in the bathroom/ He wants my fucking head mounted on his wall/ And I’ve been feeling dead every since I can remember.” Livingston presents this information matter-of-factly, their voice exhibiting the numbness that all of that anxiety can induce. Veronica is Human People’s second EP this year, following their debut Sleep Year EP that was released back in March, and the young New York band has a knack for creating simple but effective rock songs. The other two tracks on the new EP are warmer — “Cancer” is about astrological incompatibility and “Permanent Vacation” sees them wanting to take a break from it all — but it’s the chilling middle track that best demonstrates their promise. Listen to the entire thing below.

Tour Dates:
09/14 Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn (w/ Fern Mayo, Arm Candy)
09/16 Middlebury, VT @ S.O.S. Fest (w/ Mitski, SPORTS, Pouty)
09/17 Northampton, MA @ Cold Spring Hollow (w/ DUMP HIM)
10/01 Brooklyn, NY @ The Glove (w/ Dog Paws)
10/31 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory (w/ Shonen Knife)

The Veronica EP is out 9/16. You can pre-order a cassette via Yellow K Records.