Big Stir Records is proud to announce the first album from power pop and alternative rock heroes THE GREENBERRY WOODS in over 30 years. IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR..., the long-awaited follow-up to the band's two beloved albums on Sire Records in the mid-'90s, sees release on Vinyl, CD and Streaming worldwide on May 29, previewed by the advance singles “Whenever You Want Me Too” and “The One That Makes You Happy.” The new album finds all three founding singer-songwriters picking up right where they left off to deliver twelve new tracks bristling with hooks and harmonies that easily equal their vintage classics, adding up to what may be their best work yet. Up for pre-order/pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/greenberrywoods-allgood

“Let’s rewind... Can we go back in time?” Those are the first words heard on IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... and they speak volumes. Coming in on the downbeat of the first track “Summer Song” accompanied by brash, bright, open guitar chords, the yearning proclamation is immediately followed by the band crashing in with an amped-up midtempo groove that carries us directly to the first of the album's many gorgeous choruses. The focus on the past is no accident: the band is fully aware that the tune instantly telegraphs that the band who brought you “Trampoline,” the 1994 college radio hit from their widely revered debut album RAPPLE DAPPLE, is back. It's a twofold callback, not just to their own heyday on the robust power pop underground that encompassed peers like Matthew Sweet, Jellyfish and Fountains Of Wayne, but also to the decades-earlier inspiration of Big Star, Badfinger, The Beach Boys, and of course The Beatles. But while the album is informed by nostalgia, it's not defined by it. On an indie pop landscape where young bands like The Lemon Twigs are making those sounds fresh again, THE GREENBERRY WOODS step back into place as masters of the form with remarkable grace, erasing the intervening decades to bring us a simply stellar, timeless collection.

But for the moment, yes, let's rewind, just briefly, to establish why this reunion of THE GREENBERRY WOODS' three founding singer-songwriters – BRANDT HUSEMAN, IRA KATZ and MATT HUSEMAN – caused such a stir on the 21st century indie pop scene when the new and utterly beautiful single “Whenever You Want Me Too” appeared this March. Its warm Byrds-via-Crazy Horse vibes instantly evoked the days when the band arose, seemingly out of nowhere but specifically in Baltimore, and within two years delivered that classic debut and its 1995 followup BIG MONEY ITEM (enshrined as one of the 50 Best Power Pop Albums Of All Time in genre expert John Borack's two definitive books). Shortly thereafter, internal tensions were exacerbated by a particularly '90s strain of label unrest, and the band called it a day. Their legacy was carried forward chiefly by the Huseman twins' band SPLITSVILLE, which saw them joined by multi-instrumentalist PAUL KRYSIAK to release five widely hailed albums of their own. But after 2003, they too went silent. The indie pop world would have to wait twenty years for the threads to come together again. It would be worth it.

Fast forward to 2024 when Big Stir Records was privately alerted to the jaw-dropping news from Baltimore that both Splitsville and even more astonishingly THE GREENBERRY WOODS were back together and working on new material with KRYSIAK now in both bands, and JOE PARSONS (Myracle Brah, The Records) inheriting the GBW drum throne. To everything there is a season, and Splitville was to be first out of the gate with their BSR debut MOBTOWN bowing in 2025 to widespread acclaim.

It wouldn't be until this year that the admittedly loosely kept secret of THE GREENBERRY WOODS' reunion was revealed with the release of “Whenever You Want Me Too,” teasing the forthcoming album IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... to fans everywhere. Taken together, the single and the lead track reveal a mastery of sparkling melodic guitar balladry that few outside of Teenage Fanclub can approach, and the album is an embarrassment of riches on that front. There's the pure power pop of “Very Good Year” (driving guitars, a McCartney-worthy melody and crunchy #1 Record-style boogie-rock breaks). There's the aching majesty of the maximum jangle heartbreaker “That Won't Make You Love Me” and the instantly classic melody and lovely, keening vocal of “Leave The Light On.” These songs simply slay. They sound like what the people who write power pop press releases like this one are always promising, but too rarely deliver. On this record, The Greenberry Woods have the goods.

In fact, the quality of the material on IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... is so consistently high that picking the singles from this album was a particular challenge for the band and the label team. “The One That Makes You Happy,” the ultimate choice for the second preview track, so completely combines the very best aspects of melodic '90s alternative rock – pounding drums, churning riffs, a singalong chorus and even a touch of self-deprecating angst – that one can't help but think this would have been a huge commercial radio hit back during THE GREENBERRY WOODS' original run. Likewise, the under-two-minute sugar rush of “Waiting 'Round For Something To Go Wrong,” might plausibly have charted for either The Monkees or The Cure. And the absolutely wonderful “Lame Love Letter” weds a new wave power pop pulse that might have conquered the '80s airwaves to melodies, harmonies and piano of a decidedly '60s bent to create a genre-defying treasure all its own.

Surprises abound on the album, too, like the genuinely haunting lullaby-like “On The Day We Drowned” and the rollicking “All I Want Is You,” its pop-punk charge dotted with more winking references to classic pop lyrics than you'll be able to catch in one listen. It's one of many sly tributes to the band's musical heroes on the album, including the dead-on, revved up Elvis Costello salute “That Girl” (“If Elvis isn’t going to write a new Elvis song, then I will,” says Katz) and the closing track “December Boy.” Any Big Star fan (and there are surely plenty of them listening) will recognize the reference, but far from a languid “September Gurls” remake, “December Boy” swings out of the gate with an infectious '60s pop sound adorned with more swirling harmonies and a chorus that won't let go. It's a lovely conclusion that invites another listen to the full album immediately.

The return of THE GREENBERRY WOODS may be the most welcome news on the indie pop scene this year. And the album they've delivered more than lives up to their legacy, it lives up to its title as well. IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... indeed.

Expected release: May 29, 2026

Returning '90s indie pop/alt-rock stars THE GREENBERRY WOODS have just announced their first new album in over 30 years, and Big Stir Records is proud to present the second preview single for the long-awaited record: “The One That Makes You Happy.” The new track is the followup to the March hit “Whenever You Want Me Too” and one of 12 superb originals on the aptly--titled album IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... due in late May. GBW's new single is out May 1 on all digital platforms worldwide and up for preorder and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/greenberrywoods-t1tmyh

Since announcing their return to the music scene early this year, and especially on the heels of their rapturously received single “Whenever You Want Me Too” in March, Baltimore's own THE GREENBERRY WOODS have seen anticipation build for their first album since their treasured Sire Records LPs RAPPLE DAPPLE (1994) and BIG MONEY ITEM (1995). Critical response to advance copies of the album IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... have unanimously hailed it as easily the equal to those beloved platters, with the renewed songwriting and performing chemistry between then-and-now principal singer songwriters BRANDT HUSEMAN, IRA KATZ and MATT HUSEMAN earning special praise. That the album comes on the heels of a spectacular 2025 comeback from the Huseman brothers' other acclaimed band SPLITSVILLE (whose own PAUL KRYSIAK joins the new GBW lineup) only heightens the expectations.

And the songs live up to them, to the point where picking the singles from this album was a particular challenge for the band and the label team. “The One That Makes You Happy” is a standout, though: where the lead single “Whenever You Want Me Too” put a fresh spin on the brightness of Big Star and The Byrds, “Happy” is a very different, eminently radio-radio creation. It so completely combines the very best aspects of melodic '90s alternative rock – pounding drums (courtesy of newcomer JOE PARSONS), churning riffs, a singalong chorus and even a touch of self-deprecating angst – that one can't help but think this would have been a huge commercial radio hit back during THE GREENBERRY WOODS' original run. There's no doubt the modern indie airwaves will embrace it, because for all its callbacks to the band's history and influences, this could only be a song for the present, starting as it does with the telling lines “Everybody's hateful... well, that's the way it goes.”

In speaking about “The One That Makes You Happy,” the band class it as just one example of the organic way so much of IT'S ALL GOOD, SUGAR... came together despite the many years since their last album, saying, “It's a Matt song that was written so quickly it surely couldn’t be good. And a harmony that only brothers could pull off.” And there's so much more where it came from. Taken together, the two singles offer a glimpse into the album's depth, but most remarkably, the hooks you've heard up to now are equalled across the album again and again, making the return of THE GREENBERRY WOODS the most welcome news on the indie pop scene this year. The album hits record stores and streaming worldwide on May 29, and it's all very good indeed.

Big Stir Records can now, at long last, announce the glorious return of THE GREENBERRY WOODS, Baltimore's celebrated and much-missed power pop and alternative rock originals, with the new single “Whenever You Want Me Too.” An early preview track from their forthcoming album (their first new record after a 30 year absence,) its instantly recognizable hooks, harmonies and chiming guitars signal a new chapter for the band and stand with their very best. The new single is out March 20 on all digital platforms worldwide and up for preorder and pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/greenberrywoods-wywmt

Aficionados of power pop and melodic guitar rock often fondly recall the '90s underground renaissance of the sound, and THE GREENBERRY WOODS' all-too-brief run as one of the leading lights of an underappreciated global scene that included Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, Jellyfish and Fountains Of Wayne. The acclaim stems from the band's two Sire Records albums, the 1994 debut RAPPLE DAPPLE (frequently regarded as a classic of the form) and 1995's BIG MONEY ITEM (one of the 50 Best Power Pop Albums Of All Time in genre expert John Borack's two definitive books), and a legacy burnished by the subsequent career of the excellent offshoot band SPLITSVILLE. After 2003, though, Splitsville went dormant as well, and while GBW tracks routinely found places of pride on genre compilations like Yellow Pills and Rhino's Poptopia collection, only the rarities collection HOUSE sated fans' appetites for more.

It's been a challenge for Big Stir Records to keep the years-long secret that THE GREENBERRY WOODS are back: the truth is that the three core singer songwriters, guitarists MATT HUSEMAN and IRA KATZ and bassist BRANDT HUSEMAN, had rekindled their writing and recording partnership at the same time as the Huseman twins were bringing Splitsville out of hibernation for their acclaimed 2025 comeback album MOBTOWN, and in fact the new GBW lineup includes Splitsvillian multi-instrumentalist PAUL KRYSIAK and his frequent collaborator JOE PARSONS (Myracle Brah, The Records) taking over on drums. Aside from the thrilling and very real possibility of mutual touring by the two outfits, the true miracle here is the undimmed songwriting and performing chemistry on display, and “Whenever You Want Me Too” is just the first example. It soars and sparkles and sounds exactly like THE GREENBERRY WOODS at their best, standing toe to toe with their peers from their original run and evoking their influences (Byrds, Beatles, Big Star, Badfinger) while sounding completely fresh on the 21st Century indie rock landscape.

“It’s a straight ahead pop song that came together quickly. Every songwriter knows how fortunate it is when songs fall into place so fast,” the band says of the new track. “And, yes, the 'too' is intentional. Ira liked the play on words where the protagonist is not saying whenever you want me to, but whenever you want me 'also.'” Given the renewed camaraderie fueling the reunion of the band, that inclusiveness seems completely apt, but more importantly, the chorus that frames those lyrics is a guitar pop earworm to die for. Better yet, it's just one of many on the new album. Stand by for release details, and more singles, from what may be THE GREENBERRY WOODS' finest record yet, due this May from Big Stir Records.