The Halifax pop-punk band Future Girls started out in 2015 as the songwriting vehicle for Matty Grace, who’s also been in bands like Weekend Dads and Cluttered. Over the years, Future Girls became a four-piece, and they’ve released a handful of records, including the 2018 full-length Motivation Problems. On Friday, Future Girls followed Motivation Problems with a truly impressive new EP called Year Long Winter.

The songs on Year Long Winter are bouncy and melodic but also emotionally direct. In their bittersweet pogo, I hear notes of Superchunk and early Alkaline Trio. The band wrote these songs early in the pandemic, and they’ve definitely got some of the searching anxiety that so many of us felt during those days. Check out Year Long Winter below.

The Year Long Winter EP is out now on Dirt Cult Records.