Brat Summer Is Over, But This Duo Is Bringing the Same Attitude Into 2025 With New Album

While Charli XCX sparked the viral “brat summer” trend last June, inspired by her album brat, the Los Angeles synth-punk duo Sextile is ready to usher in a brat spring with the upcoming release of its just-announced new record, yes, please.

To celebrate, Brady Keehn and Melissa Scaduto also shared the single “Freak Eyes” on Tuesday, February 19, an electro banger that serves as an appetizer of what’s to come when yes, please. drops on May 2 via Sacred Bones.

“The vibe still goes hard for bratty,” says Scaduto, who handles drums, electronics and guitar in Sextile. “There’s a lot of real sassy floor stompers.”

The duo is currently on tour opening for Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma, and will be at the Mission Ballroom on Tuesday, February 25.

But unlike 2023’s Push, the upcoming Sextile LP feels more honest and raw at times, as Keehn and Scaduto opted to open up about their personal lives more than ever and add in some social commentary, too.

“I feel vulnerable on this record in a way that I didn’t before,” Scaduto shares.

“We definitely talk about our lives and address certain issues or concerns or things that we’re dealing with a little more,” adds Keehn, Sextile’s vocalist and guitarist.

“Yeah, I stopped talking so much shit on this record,” Scaduto continues. “The last record was very bratty and niche at talking and telling people basically ‘Fuck you, too.’ This one is a bit different. It’s very nostalgic in terms of the subjects I brought up.”
Through two very different songs, Scaduto addresses a horrific accident she suffered when she was 27 that left her wheelchair-bound and required extensive rehabilitation, “I lived in a state-run nursing home in New York, so there’s a country song [“Soggy Newports”] I wrote in 2011 that we actually ended up putting on the record,” she explains. “Then there’s another song [“Hospital,” featuring Izzy Glaudin of Automatic] we created recently that talks about the hospital.

“I never thought about doing it before. I know when I tell stories from that hospital people say it was crazy,” Scaduto continues. “It sounded like it was an entertaining thing, but there was no real plan for that. It just happened — the lyrics about talking about the hospital sort of just came up.”

Keehn, whose lyrical contributions address the anxiety surrounding a creative life, was open to working on anything that came to the table, including Scaduto’s long-lost country tune.

“I played it for Brady because we were going through all of our old demos. We’ll dig up whatever we can and see if it’s worth working on or cool,” she recalls. “I found this demo from 2011 and I just played it for him thinking he would just whatever it and he was like, ‘Let’s work on that.’”

The result is the “wordiest” Sextile album to date, according to Keehn, but also the most candid in terms of its message.

“We’re not beating around the bush or being vague or metaphorical. We’re getting straight to the point,” he says.

“I think we really cared about this one. We also explored a lot of things, like certain sounds and themes and aesthetics that we always wanted to try,” Keehn adds. “We finally pushed ourselves to try those, and I think we pushed ourselves to write better lyrics for this record than we ever have attempted to.”

With only one song out so far, we’ll have to wait a little longer to fully experience yes, please., but the brash ethos that’s been behind Sextile since 2015 is sure to keep "brat" in vogue for at least another season.

“I just want to feel free so I’m also trying to experience that with other people where we can together,” Scaduto concludes.

Sextile, with Molchat Doma, 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 25, Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street. Tickets are $57.