Originally, underground cult heroes Saetia started in ’97 and ended in ’99. The members of the group were all NYU students when they arrived on the scene, and their clangy, discordant, dramatic music helped set the stage for the entire screamo subgenre. Saetia didn’t stick around for long, and they only recorded one album and a few assorted extras. Now, like so many other screamo pioneers, Saetia are now back together; they returned to playing live in 2022. Today, they’ve released their first new music since 1999.

As Brooklyn Vegan points out, Saetia mentioned the possibility of new music when they opened a Blood Brothers show at New York’s Irving Plaza last month. Now, they’re planning on releasing a new three-song EP called Tendrils, with new tracks coming out one at a time before it comes out on vinyl in April. On Instagram, the band writes, “Back in December of 2023 Colin shared an idea that he wrote on bass. We weren’t really serious about working on new music up until that point, but the five of us slowly started building on that original idea. Through lots of file sharing, trips to Philly and different rehearsal spaces around the United States over the past year, we were able to write and record these three songs.”

Today, Saetia have shared “Tendrils,” the new EP’s title track. It’s a powerful, impassioned piece of music, with angular guitars hitting from every angle. Parts of it are truly pretty, and the whole thing moves. Saetia parted ways with original guitarist Jamie Behar before their reunion shows, after his ex-partner accused him of emotional abuse. On the new record, as at their recent live shows, Saetia’s other four members are joined by guitarist Tom Schlatter, from bands like You & I and Hundreds Of AU. Check out “Tendrils” and the new EP’s tracklist below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Tendrils”
02 “Three Faces Past”
03 “Corkscrew Spine”

The self-released Tendrils EP is expected to come out in April; pre-order it here.