A band based out of Boston and Providence, Puppy Problems emerged back in 2018 with their debut album, Sunday Feeling which was released on Sleeper Records. While the subsequent five years haven’t seen any new music from Puppy Problems, they have been spent creatively, playing shows, booking shows, playing in other bands and generally expanding their musical horizons. Now teaming up with Anything Bagel Records, the band are set to release their second long-player, Winter In Fruitland this September, and today are premiering their new single, Him or Me.

Discussing the track the band suggest, Him or Me, “as a collection of thoughts that is probably pretty familiar to anyone who has lived through an abusive situation or a moment of violence”. It’s less a reflection on the actual act or the perpetrator than it is on those who stand on the sidelines, “I found myself wondering how people close to the person who had harmed me thought about their actions, or how they made excuses for the situation”.

Musically, the track is a slice of classic bedroom-pop, entering on a meandering, ringing guitar line, before the contrastingly rugged drum beat cuts through, adding a steady drive beneath the melodic drift. As layers of keyboards come and go, the lyrics cut through, angry sure, but mainly disappointed, as they deflatedly sing, “I need to know if you believe him or me”. Pained it may be, yet Puppy Problems’ return is a subtle triumph, a songwriter returning from the wilderness ready to make a splash.

Winter in Fruitland is out September 22nd via Anything Bagel. For more information on Puppy Problems visit https://puppyproblems.bandcamp.com/.