On its follow-up to 2013’s Maybe You, No One Else Worth It, Michigan’s Brave Bird sets its sights on growth. Where the debut album dealt in the kind of pop-punk that Brand New was defining over a decade ago, T-Minus Grand Gesture sees Brave Bird expand both its line-up and its sound. Guitarist Matt Terrigan has re-joined the band, an addition that allows vocalist-guitarist Chris Lieu an opportunity to pull back the arpeggios and focus on wandering vocal melodies. On the EP’s title track, which The A.V. Club is premiering below, Lieu proves that even as the band continually gets lumped in with the Long Island luminaries, there’s still plenty of room for originality with such a style.


T-Minus Grand Gesture will be released on May 27 by Count Your Lucky Stars, and pre-orders for the EP are available now.