Psychedelic rock legends STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK present another all-new single as anticipation continues to build for the announcement and release of their first album of original music in decades. “The Sky Isn't Falling” is a gorgeous slice of sunshine pop featuring all the harmonies and musical invention that made the band's name in the '60s and fueled their recent hits “Monsters” and “Blow Your Mind.” The new single is out May 8 and up for pre-order and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/strawberryalarmclock-sky

STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK occupies a unique place on the 21st Century psych and indie rock landscape. Few true '60s veterans can boast a lineup as close to their original roster, but here they are with five members who've been part of their legacy since the start – MARK STEPHEN WEITZ (keyboards), RANDY SEOL (drums), GEORGE BUNNELL (bass), GENE GUNNELS (drums/percussion), multi-instrumentalist (and Oingo Boingo co-founder) STEVE BARTEK, plus guitarist HOWIE ANDERSON who's been a full member for forty years. Even more amazingly and importantly, while they embody the spirit of their original era, they trade not on nostalgia but on pursuing the musical ambition, experimentalism and unbridled creativity that made them shine in those early years. It's on display whenever the band hits the live stage, clad in paisley and stretching out with musical chemistry incorporating not just the expected instruments but marimbas, electric sitars and wild percussion, and it's been the hallmark of the new singles that have heralded their return: the eerie, unsettling “Monsters” which debuted last Halloween and the more recent hook-heavy rocker “Blow Your Mind,” as well as the attendant B-sides “White Light and “Live Water.”

This newest release, another strong indication of what awaits on the forthcoming album, shows off one more facet of a veteran band at an astonishing peak in creativity and chemistry. “The Sky Isn't Falling” takes flight with bright harmonies and a pitch-perfect psych-rock guitar lead, and settles into a mysterious minor key sunshine pop groove before opening back up, leaving room for a soaring guitar solo by Anderson (who also wrote and sings lead on the track). “The song was inspired by the vastness of time and space, and how all of us are all connected to all things,” he says, “and that the soul continues on forever through all time and space.” Cosmic stuff, framed as a memorable melody and a driving performance by the band... in short, everything you could hope for in a new STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK hit.

All of the elements coalesce here thanks to the decades of chemistry between the players, and it's given the appropriate dynamic touch by the modern but tastefully dynamic production overseen by Bartek along with Michael Stern and the band. Taken together with the diverse, delightful surprises of the other singles previewing the album, it's clear that this is a new era for STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK, and one that will connect with fans old and young – including the new generation showing up in force at the band's celebrated live shows! – in wonderful and surprising ways. The final reveal of the album, entitled WHERE'S ONE? and slated for a late Summer release (alongside a true luau of release party) is just week away... stand by for more news from the band and BIG STIR RECORDS!

BIG STIR RECORDS closes the 2025 release year with a brand new single from psychedelic rock legends STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK that's much more a sign of things to come than a blast from the past. The single features not one but two never-before-heard tracks from the band: “Blow Your Mind” and “Live Water,” both bristling with fresh energy and previewing a brand new SAC album on the way in 2026. It's out December 19 and up for pre-order and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/strawberryalarmclock-bym

One of 2025's greatest and most delightful musical surprises came along with the scares of the Halloween season as genuine psych-rock pioneers STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK returned with the superb new single “Monsters,” in truth a song for all seasons, and its trippy B-side “White Light”. Now they're back again, readily proving that those tracks were no one-off fluke with two more tunes pointing the way to a new full-length album on the way in 2026. The new single pairs the ultra-catchy and irresistibly boisterous “Blow Your Mind” with the lushly beautiful “Live Water,” both crafted by the near-complete 1967 lineup of the band: MARK STEPHEN WEITZ (keyboards), RANDY SEOL (drums), GEORGE BUNNELL (bass), GENE GUNNELS (drums/percussion), multi-instrumentalist (and Oingo Boingo co-founder) STEVE BARTEK and guitarist HOWIE ANDERSON who's been a full member since 1987. Taken together, the two tracks give every member time to shine, and they display an inventiveness and energy that goes far beyond nostalgia: STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK is most definitely in top form, with much to offer the modern world.

Our A-side “Blow Your Mind” easily lives up to its name: an intoxicating sonic brew blending catchy guitar hooks with harmonica, sax, sitar, and of course the vintage Italian Vox Continental of its lead singer MARK STEPHEN WEITZ, the architect of the iconic STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK keyboard sound since the beginning. In a modern touch, there's even a dusting of electronic loops mingling with Gene Gunnel's driving drums, Randy Seol's percussion and George Bunnell's instantly memorable bassline. The overwhelmingly positive (and positively youthful) vibes carry the song through twists and turns mirroring the lyrics: it's all about travel and adventure with the one you love.

“I gravitate toward writing upbeat, fun and happy songs, so the lyrics came pretty naturally,” says Weitz. “The line 'It's a matter of time 'til I blow your mind' stems from past relationship interactions I've experienced in life where the outcome was surprising in a 'blow your mind' kind of way.” The spontaneous joie-de-vivre of those words is reflected in the arrangement, although it was developed over a ten-year period and three separate sessions, finally reaching its present perfection this year. “I thought, who knows this band better than anyone and would be capable of getting the song finally completed to our liking? The answer was Steve Bartek!” says Weitz. Indeed, Bartek's deft production captures the '60s spirit while also sounding as modern as the work of the best indie bands of today.

Equally timeless in sound is the B-side, “Live Water,” fronted by the band's RANDY SEOL and also produced by Bartek. Sunshine harmonies frame the rainy-day lyrics, and the soundscape centers on a groove that stands with the best of '70s soul or '90s trip hop. The song effortlessly toggles to double time and back, with layers of psychedelic slide guitar, delicate piano and fluttering flute floating above the beats, and the instrumental break is wonderfully otherworldly. “It's a celebration of water being the life-giving element that loves to be positive,” says Seol of his lyrics. “I've learned water has a memory and is telepathic, just like my wife Beverly.”

It's clear from the four tracks issued this year that STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK is not only back, but enjoying a true creative renaissance. And that's what the psychedelic rock revolution was all about: new sounds, deep connections, and restless inventiveness. While all the vibes are intact and the melodies are stronger than ever, this is no nostalgia trip. When the new album WHERE'S ONE finally hits record stores and streaming services in 2026, it'll be the dawning of a new era for the band, and one that will connect with fans old and young – including the new generation showing up in force at the band's celebrated live shows! – in wonderful and surprising ways. Big Stir Records is proud to be a part of one of the most welcome comebacks we can imagine, and we invite you to listen in as it all unfolds.

Big Stir Records welcomes to our roster – and brings you a new single from – true psychedelic rock pioneers STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK! A new era for the legendary veterans begins with “Monsters,” an all-new song dripping with dramatic tension and destined to haunt you throughout the Halloween season and beyond. It sees release on all digital platforms worldwide on October 3 (and will appear on Vinyl and CD as part of Big Stir's Halloween celebration Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies one week later). Backed with another new track, “White Light,” as a virtual B-side and including a shorter edit of the A-side for radio, “Monsters” is up for pre-order and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/strawberryalarmclock-monsters

Lest there be any doubt, yes, this is unquestionably STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK of “Incense and Peppermints” fame, perhaps the quintessential psychedelic pop rock band in the hearts of millions. The current lineup is much as it was in 1967 on the classic debut album: MARK STEPHEN WEITZ (keyboards), RANDY SEOL (drums), GEORGE BUNNELL (bass), GENE GUNNELS (drums/percussion), and STEVE BARTEK (guitar and flute, and well-known for his work with Oingo Boingo between his times with the SAC), plus guitarist HOWIE ANDERSON who's been a full member since a 1987 reunion. More importantly and true to their legacy, they remain completely original and experimental. They are not here to revisit the classics of their back catalog and their original era; they did that with admirable grace on their first reunion album Wake Where You Are in 2012. Now, as in the beginning, they break new ground and usher in a new age for not just STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK but melodic psychedelia itself.

The new song “Monsters” is indeed psychedelic, and groovy in both senses of the word, but it is also – in the spirit of the Halloween season of its release – unsettling, albeit shot through with true beauty courtesy of the band's trademark harmonies. Bassist GEORGE BUNNELL takes the lead vocal, unspooling a tale of primal fear punctuated by keening, trippy guitar solos from BARTEK and ANDERSON. Beneath the “Monsters” metaphor lies something deeper, as lyricist and collaborator since 1969 David Glück explains: “The lyrics explore the lingering impact of fear, trauma, or anxiety—both in childhood and adulthood. It begins with classic childhood fears of monsters in the dark, hinting at a deeper, perhaps metaphorical threat. Despite being told to dismiss these fears as childish, the feelings persist and evolve over time.”

“As the song progresses, the fear becomes internalized and projected onto someone else—possibly a loved one, authority figure, or even the self—revealing how deeply rooted and unchanged these fears have become. The repeated refrain 'it's still the same' underscores a sense of inescapability, showing that time hasn’t healed the emotional wounds. The final verses turn personal, suggesting betrayal or transformation in someone close, who now embodies the very fear the narrator tried to outgrow.” Heady stuff for pop music, but an ideal meeting place for psychedelia and psychodrama, and the band brings it all together in a breathtakingly original package. The song is already a key part of the band's live set, having been performed as recently as January 2025 at a sold-out show at the Whisky in LA.

The B-side, “White Light,” is if anything even more tense. Sung by RANDY SEOL, it's a journey of another kind, full of musical hairpin turns evocative of the best prog rock and a questing sensibility characteristic of the '60s generation but never more relevant in the 21st Century. “Where am I going? What will I do when I get there? Will I get tired of it too?” Seol sings, but there's a redemptive strain that develops as well throughout the song. It's brilliant to hear STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK in such an exploratory and cathartic mode, just a few years shy of their 60th anniversary, and a thrilling sign of things to come as the band completes the recording of a new full-length album to be released next year.

“Monsters” was always planned by STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK as a release for the Halloween season, and thus it fits perfectly with Big Stir Records' month-long celebration of the Spooky Season: it's included on the Double-LP Vinyl, CD and Streaming editions of the label's very special, all-new multi-artist collection of scary songs CHILLING, THRILLING HOOKS AND HAUNTED HARMONIES,out one week after the single. That means that not only have STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK delivered a future seasonal classic sure to be revisited for many Octobers to come, they'll also have a brand new tune on wax for the first time since their original run.

It won't be the last. In 2026, the STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK will strike once again, and the time will be... now.