Boston indie rock outfit The Q-Tip Bandits are thrilled to share “Better Place”, the second single from their forthcoming new album Melancholy Flowers, which is set to be released on June 10th, 2022. This new track features vocalist and bass player Claire Davis taking on a lead vocal role, unlike lead single “Daisy” which is all about the interplay between Claire and the band’s guitarist and other vocalist Leo Son. The style of The Q-Tip Bandits combines breezy indie pop in the style of current artists like Hippo Campus or The Greeting Committee with a trumpet & trombone horn section to create a smooth yet powerful sound backed by the raw energy of rock and the coolness and colors of R&B and funk — with palpable grooves coated with savory, soul-inspired riffs, anthemic horns and meaningful lyrics. 

While sticking true to the sonically euphoric tone of the band’s lead single from April, “Daisy”, new single “Better Place” acts as a bittersweet homage to a friendship. The new single speaks to the comfort and stability that two people can bring to one another, being each other’s escape from life’s stresses. Speaking to the lyrical inspiration behind “Better Place”, Claire writes “The music of ‘Better Place’ began as a mumbled voice memo of a melody, recorded through tears from behind the wheel waiting in my high school best friend’s driveway. This was a friend that had been through everything with me, we shared everything, did everything together, and there was truly nothing that wasn’t made better by having her by my side. As childhood friendships often do, our relationship drifted as the years went on, separated by distance and time.”

“Although “Better Place” began as an apology letter, mourning a shift in the fabric of the relationship that once was, it grew into an homage to an incredibly special connection that will always be. In the times that we feel lonely, scared, and isolated, even in a room full of people, having a person there to guide you and walk with you through the dark is worth the whole world. Better Place is about not only finding that someone, but being that someone for someone else, something that I believe we all have the power to be. There is truly no greater feeling in my opinion, than being someone’s better place. The initial inspiration for the lyrics of the song came from The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, and it wasn’t until after the completion of the song that I realized “Better Place” was my own equivalent of a tiny book of tiny stories, with little memories wrapped into each stanza, tiny glimpses into different points in the plot line of a beautiful friendship.”

Photo Courtesy: Alissa Wyle