Next month sees the release of Sports Team’s third album Boys These Days. The British alt-rock group unveiled the unpredictable, exuberant singles “I’m In Love (Subaru)” and “Condensation” before getting robbed at gunpoint in California while on tour. Nevertheless, the promo cycle continues, and the band is back today with the topical song “Bang Bang Bang.”

“Bang Bang Bang” is another alluring tune, serving as an enthralling a western epic. Here’s what Sports Team said about it:

We would tour America a lot, and you see the AR-15 logo used on coffee bags, hats, t shirts, bumper stickers. There’d be racks with tourist souvenirs, a Mickey Mouse hat, pet rocks, some local landmark postcard, then a AR-15 magnet and that’s where the seed of the lyrics came from. Then across the time we spent in America I was fleshing the lyrics out. There was a story I saw about NRA robocalls after the Newtown shooting, and it’s horrific. The immediate PR damage control machine. Then you go and drink in bars. Particularly in smaller towns, and people would hear the accent and ask you about guns. Bring them out and want you to hold them, or look at them. And it just seems like another weird part of the weird culture clash that touring America sometimes feels like. When I was writing the song I was a bit worried about how we would put it out. It’s not something that’s in your garden and you sort of think, however deeply you empathise with a problem, when it’s directly affecting other people you’re a bit nervous about clumsily trampling through it.

Imagining something like that happening and you always think it’ll feel dramatic. I think what was shocking was how blase people were. You’re queuing for coffee. And then you’re trying to negotiate somebody waving a pistol around. The staff come and lock the doors, tell you to step away from the windows. You’re trying to barricade yourself in the toilet and they’re still doing the squirty cream on the drinks. Anyway now it all feels a bit ridiculous. You’re debating not putting the song out on the album, because it suddenly seems like some ridiculous stunt. Like it’s embarrassing. Everybody is so kind. Strangers offering help. Some local mom has seen it on cable news and messages offering any help, or somewhere safe to wait and figure things out, and ultimately you’re fine.

Listen below.

Boys These Days is out 2/28 on Bright Antenna Records/Distiller Records.