MSPAINT Announce No Separation EP: Hear “Angel”

10:10 AM EDT on April 29, 2025

Hattiesburg, Mississippi synth-punk freaks MSPAINT are one of the best bands we've got going right now, and they sound like absolutely nobody else. They attack with hardcore urgency, but their sound has absolutely zero guitar, and sometimes they feel like they've discovered a berserker take on pop music that exists only in their minds. They are true American originals. MSPAINT became a Stereogum Band To Watch in 2023, and their full-length debut Post-American was one of our favorite albums of the year. Since then, MSPAINT have done a whole lot of touring, and singer Deedee has guested on tracks like PONY's "Haunted House (Remix)" and Dazy's "It's Only A Secret." Now, they've got a new EP coming, and it will probably be fucking awesome.

MSPAINT's new five-track EP No Separation is coming next month, and synth player Nick Panella co-produced it with Show Me The Body's Julian Cashwann Pratt and Harlan Steel. In a press release, bassist Randy Reilly says how that happened:

We met up with Show Me The Body in LA while we were on tour, and we went to visit this spooky studio where they were doing a "writing camp." We didn’t even know what that was -- ain’t nobody in Hattiesburg doing a writing camp. But it ended up being this really strange and cool experience, and we showed Julian and Harlan some of what we were working on. Julian hit the ground running and started offering feedback right away, so when it came time to work on the EP we remembered that and thought it was something worth exploring more.

The EP's lead single is its closing track "Angel," and it might be the catchiest and most accessible thing we've heard from MSPAINT yet. It's still pretty weird, though! Over oscillating keyboards, Deedee aggressively chants in '80s rap cadences about controlling yourself because you can't control your environment. Deedee says, "It’s definitely different from the way I would usually write for the band. It’s something you can sing along to, but it’s also something that maybe you’re saying to yourself that feels good -- some positive thinking. I felt like we succeeded at bringing poppier elements into our space and making them our own instead of trying to bring what we do into a pop space." Below, check out the ominous Alex Thiel-directed "Angel" video and the No Separation tracklist.