Tiny Engines, you guys. Great label. Always signing killer new bands. Truth Club, for instance. The Raleigh rockers will release their debut Not An Exit on the venerable indie a few weeks from now, and if you heard the title track, you know that’s fantastic news. Just wait ’til you hear single #2, though.

“Tethering” is an alternately plaintive and propulsive guitar-powered track that toggles between measured, gleaming verses and rolling, distorted choruses. The label-provided RIYL reads “Parquet Courts, Ought, Flasher, Protomartyr, Interpol,” and, sure, some of that rings true. But fans of the Hotelier and Modern Baseball will dig this just as hard, and as with fellow emo-adjacent indie upstarts Caracara, I’m also picking up a lot of late-’90s alt-rock vibes in the mix — Third Eye Blind, Our Lady Peace, the Verve Pipe, etc. And although I apologize for piling on the comparisons, there’s also a resemblance to slow-burn Pavement tracks like “Grounded” and “Fillmore Jive.”

Mostly it just sounds like Truth Club, though. The group has synthesized all these strands into its own distinct style, one that feels radioactive and combustible yet also meditative, with room to breathe. Travis Harrington’s pointed, nasal vocals can erupt into piercing aggro blasts at will, and he attaches them to expressive lyrics — in this case about feeling disconnected from everything because you’re stuck on an ex.

Listen below.

Not An Exit is out 5/3 on Tiny Engines. Pre-order it here.