Long Limbs hail from Sheffield, but they sound like they were plucked straight out of Midwestern emo. With just two members, the skeletal arrangement on their new song “Past Tense” is bolstered by a bit of studio trickery to make them feel larger than life. Background coos and filtered vocals dot the landscape, the track cuts itself into three different suites by dropping out and picking back up a little faster and more urgent than what came before. That lets the song build in a very structurally satisfying way, where you can see the scaffolding and take a step back to admire the view. The lyrics traverse the familiar ground of trying to fit a square personality peg into a round life hole, setting their sights on the one thing that will let their irregular edges fit through. “I don’t know what to do when I’m not with you,” goes the big fireworks climax. The single is part of Art Is Hard’s limited edition Hand Cut vinyl 7-inch series. Listen below.

The “Past Tense” single is limited to 25 physical copies via Art Is Hard. You can download it over on Bandcamp.