New York quintet Bodega have shared new single ‘Literary World’, the fourth from their upcoming album, All Inside Aquarium, out October 9th via Chrysalis Records.
The single arrives during the band’s tour of Spain previewing the record. All Inside Aquarium was produced by Matt Peel, known for his work with Yard Act and Eagulls, at his studio in a deconsecrated church in Leeds, and mixed in Brighton by Theo Verney, whose credits include English Teacher and Lime Garden. The album is available for pre-order, including a Dinked exclusive 7″ and Cloudy Blue vinyl, and a limited Bandcamp edition featuring hand-painted alternate artwork by percussionist and vocalist Nikki Belfiglio.
Alongside the single, the band have announced a week-long art installation at the Millennium Film Workshop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, running October 6th to 13th, featuring a sculpture based on the album’s artwork alongside further work from Belfiglio and local artists who helped produce the piece. The gallery will host a private view, a film screening and a closing party, along with a chance for the public to hear the album in full ahead of release.
Bodega’s earlier albums, 2018’s Endless Scroll, 2022’s Broken Equipment and 2024’s Our Brand Could Be Your Life, drew comparisons to post-punk acts like Talking Heads, the B-52s, Devo and Sonic Youth. Guitarist and vocalist Ben Hozie has pushed back on that framing, saying “I just thought of us as a conceptual rock band,” and describing All Inside Aquarium as a deliberate move toward more melodic songwriting, pulling from late ’80s and early ’90s touchstones like the Stone Roses and Jane’s Addiction, complete with more guitar riffing and solos. The album also includes a reinvention of Bob Dylan’s ‘Slow Train’, the title track from his 1979 record of the same name.
Where the band’s earlier work leaned more explicitly political, Hozie and Belfiglio have described this record as more concerned with poetics than didacticism, with ‘Literary World’ serving as something close to the album’s thesis statement, and the writing overall marking some of Hozie’s most personal material to date.
The band follow their Spanish dates with already sold-out London and Paris shows, before a full UK tour in November.
All Inside Aquarium tracklist:
- All Inside Aquarium
- Weather Me
- Literary World
- Astro Night Ride
- Pick Up the Check
- Oxygen
- Fear Not the Fear
- Slow Train
- Combustible
- Pile Driver
- Backbeaten
- Olivia
Bodega live dates:
- 9 Sept – Barcelona, ES – Upload
- 10 Sept – Zaragoza, ES – La Lata de Bombillas
- 11 Sept – Donostia, ES – Boga Boga Festival
- 13 Sept – Asten-Heusden, NL – Misty Fields Festival
- 15 Sept – London, UK – Sister Ray Records (signing event)
- 15 Sept – London, UK – 100 Club (sold out)
- 16 Sept – Paris, FR – Pop Up! (sold out)
- 2–9 Oct – Brooklyn, NY – Millennium Film Workshop (art installation)
- 15 Oct – New York, NY – Rough Trade (in-store)
- 19 Nov – Glasgow, UK – Mono
- 20 Nov – North Shields, UK – King Street Social Club
- 21 Nov – Manchester, UK – The Abbey (sold out)
- 22 Nov – Manchester, UK – The Abbey (sold out)
- 24 Nov – Bristol, UK – Electric Bristol
- 25 Nov – London, UK – The Garage
- 26 Nov – Leeds, UK – Irish Centre
- 27 Nov – Birkenhead, UK – Future Yard
All Inside Aquarium is out October 9th via Chrysalis Records.
