Nashville indie pop band-turned-community Okey Dokey just shared “Wine Friends,” the newest offering from their upcoming album Once Upon One Time. Out on October 23 via Park the Van (Dr. Dog, BRONCHO, Cayucas), the project features behind-the-boards work from Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, Darkside’s Dave Harrington, The Shins’ Yuuki Matthews, My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel and in the case of this latest track, Poolside founding member Filip Nikolic. 

The video and song take an upbeat approach to a usually dismal subject. As the band describes: “There is a moment where you settle into the concept that you may be alone someday. I feel like expectation breeds regret and when you get rid of it you can breathe a little more. This song was sorta written as a way to say that dying is something that I will always look forward to as long as I can look back and say that it was my journey and I always embraced it.”

“Wine Friends” follows previous singles “It’s Just You” and “The Right Fit” from the album. Focused on building a community around the project, Okey Dokey allowed outsiders to send in audio featured throughout, as well as recruiting members to their newly formed community – watch a testimonial from famed professional skateboarder Tony Hawk here.
 
Taking real experiences that have been rewritten in the name of a fresh start, Once Upon One Time combines new and old sounds to explore anxiety, sobriety, breakups and self-love. As Martin explains: “There you have it, that’s me. Every person who hears this record has their own story, which is why this one is left without a call for feedback. I hope people can get some insight into me so that I may hear their experiences in return and we might start our own oral traditions together.” It’s that sense of community which makes the album such a memorable and deeply felt listening experience – music that sounds unbelievably human even when exploring far-out sounds, with an emotive streak that’s easily relatable.
 
Okey Dokey dates back to 2016, when Johny Fisher – who’d previously been in a carousel of bands with Martin – grew tired of work as a hired-gun touring musician and asked Martin to start a band with him. Since then, they’ve released two albums – 2017’s Love You, Mean It and last year’s Tell All Your Friend – and added a third member, Jeremy Clark for Once Upon One Time, continuing to span swelling rock and orchestral pop to squishy funk & beyond.