Minneapolis-based pop punk outfit Rad Owl‘s new single, “Double Play” (Cardinal Sun Records) hits streaming platforms today. The band initially had a soft release for the track off the group’s Rad Owl / Quit split 7″ last summer for the shows played together. Now, the 7″ also gets a more official launch.

“’Double Play’ is the spiritual sequel to ‘Aladdin’s Castle,’ the first song we ever released,” says drummer David Jarnstrom. “Both are names of places we’d frequent as kids in the Mankato mall – the former a comic book and sports cards store, the latter an arcade. We collectively spent thousands of dollars in those two places. I even remember watching a few innings of the 1987 World Series (featuring our beloved Minnesota Twins) on a tiny TV in that store.

“‘Double Play’ has that nostalgic CRUZ Records quality that we were brought up on in the early ‘90s: the poppy, punk metal guitars and soaring vocal hooks of Big Drill Car mixed with the progressive elements of ALL and Descendents. We don’t dabble in odd time often, but I think we pulled it off admirably in the bridge section here.

“We fully intended this song to be on our last LP, Rage Gracefully, but we just couldn’t get it to fit. So we’re beyond stoked it found a home on a split 7” with our heroes and friends in Quit – another shreddy, melodic, prog-punk band we obsessed over as dorky teens just learning how to play. We did some shows with them last year and have become really close friends, which is super special and validating for us.

“We’re also honored to finally have a release on Landland Colportage. Label owner and illustrator extraordinaire Dan Black grew up going to all ages shows in Mankato just like us, so there’s a kinship there – we’ve got a pretty tight circle of visual collaborators who totally get what we’re all about, which is something we don’t take for granted.”