“One problem with constantly mining your own personal life for lyrical inspiration is that you sometimes catch yourself experiencing personal interactions through the lens of your own future lyrical depiction of the moment,” says We Are Scientists vocalist and guitarist Keith Murray about the band’s emotionally raw new single, “The Big One.”

The artist adds: “We hear a lot about artists coping with difficult emotional experiences by hashing them out in their work; much less is said about how the anticipation of doing that artistic hashing plays in at the actual moment. Like, ‘Oh, geez, I’m in trouble now and here comes a good song!’”

Murray continues with: “There’s a scene in Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming where a couple, fresh out of undergrad, are fighting over who gets to ‘use this material in a story’,” he continues, alluding to the 1995 film. “As a referendum on artistic solipsism, it haunts me to this day. I guess ‘The Big One’ is about those moments when things go so awry that that sort of in-the-moment arm’s-length analysis is no longer a possibility. Now you’re just in it. It also has maybe my favorite guitar solo ever, so, yeah.”

“The Big One” is the final preview of Qualifying Miles, which is the band’s highly anticipated ninth studio album that will be out on July 18, through Grönland Records. It follows a trio of emotionally rich singles that capture the band’s sharpened, guitar-forward direction and trademark lyrical wit.

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna