American Pie. 10 Things I Hate About You. Can’t Hardly Wait. Now iconic late 90s and early 2000s coming-of-age comedies like these all came equipped with notable scores from power pop-punk bands that set the scene of teenage angst, love, and lust, and were anthems for some of our own adolescence.
Harnessing that same spirit and energy but with more melodic influence is Brooklyn’s Strange Neighbors, who today, March 6th, 2025, released their latest single, “Hate Me Less.” Along with the new track comes the announcement of the band’s sophomore album, People Pleasers Pleasing People, which is due out April 18th, 2025 via Mint 400 Records.
Premiering yesterday on Punk News, the break-up song is sung from the breaker-upper’s perspective, ultimately holding out hope there’s no bad blood, and recognizing their own faults within the situation. The ending of the tumultuous relationship is met with more sympathy than bitterness – at least on one end – and is a lesser-heard viewpoint in a break-up song.
“Hate Me Less” opens with a contemplative mid-tempo riff that acts as a ticking timebomb just waiting to go off. “Parked, lights off in the 7-Eleven lot,” frontwoman Aidan Strange sings to start off the song, painting the scene from the get-go. The second verse into the chorus digs a little deeper: “When promises get too big they turn into lies / And you know I’ve never been good at goodbyes / I have regret / I have regret / But I think I’m trying my best / I think I’m trying my best / I hope you hate me less,” she pleads, as the song crescendos into the four-piece ensemble delivering their full arsenal of sound.
“I wrote ‘Hate Me Less’ from the depths of a haunted nostalgia that has weaved a thread throughout multiple previous failed relationships,” states Strange. “I was reflecting on a recent breakup in which I recognized I was putting off ending it for far too long, worried about hurting the person, but in the end hurting us both worse. In the end, it became a song about memories, regret, feeling messy, and ultimately, one of hope…but from a healthy distance.”
Their upcoming album, People Pleasers Pleasing People, harnesses a theme that weaves itself throughout, which is along the lines of “laugh now, cry later.” Lyrically and thematically the foursome journeys through difficult subjects like the desire to numb yourself from the world (or country) and the pain that comes with it, guilt-stricken breakups, learning to relinquish control, and when love just isn’t enough. “These are topics we think about and work through, but life is too short to not have fun — life is too short to not still try and dance,” says Strange. “So we maneuver through the difficult subjects with groove, contagious beats, humor, satire, and sometimes a bit of shouting.”
People Pleasers Pleasing People was recorded and produced by Mike Dwyer at The Bunker Recordings in Catskill, New York. The band has worked with Dwyer on nearly everything they’ve released. “The songs are much more lushly arranged in the studio than their live versions, so Mike is really great at helping us figure out those extra harmonies and overdubs that bring the songs up another level,” says Strange. “He’s also great at being the adult in the room and telling us ‘no’ when we start to get a little too crazy with overdub ideas.”
“Hate Me Less” follows their January earworm of a single, “Influencer,” and their next single, “Without a Head,” is set to be released April 3rd for one final teaser before the album release.
Strange Neighbors has their album release show set for April 17th at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn among other Mint 400 Records artists.
Thoughts Words Action 