Durham-based electropop duo Sylvan Esso announced their fifth studio album Tuesday, titled “Ow ∞” and set for release September 11. They also released the album’s second single “Concrete Glen,” and an accompanying music video.
The album will be the group’s first on their own label “Psychic Hotline,” which they launched in 2018. The first single, “Hot Slob,” was released in June.
“One of my favorite ways of producing in general is to come up with an idea and then take out a third of it,” said Amelia Meath, one half of Sylvan Esso, in a release describing the creative process behind the new record. “One, it makes things interesting and exciting, but also it makes your ear ask a question. And it kind of forces the listener to be creative as well. To try to fill that space with something, which I find as a listener to be really exciting and interesting. Particularly with pop music, because it’s all about fulfilling a promise. You know this melodic structure, you know, we’re going to the four here. Not doing it is always the thing that makes people fall in love with a song or a person.”
The duo is also going on tour this fall, holding North Carolina shows at the Orange Peel in Asheville on October 2 and October 3, and at Psychic Hotline’s “Good Moon Festival” in Durham, where they’ll play on October 8 and October 10.
“Living hurts forever, and then it stops,” Meath’s release continued, describing the meaning behind the record’s title. “But also it’s a little silly. And that’s how I feel. If you’re going to keep participating in the world, and in your life, you have to commit to being hurt. And if you aren’t putting yourself in the way of potential hurt, you miss out on a lot of potential opportunities. So in some ways it’s like a rallying cry, saying ‘I’m gonna get hurt forever, and that’s okay.’”
Sylvan Esso consists of Meath and Nick Sanborn and has been active since 2013. They have released four studio albums, with the most recent being 2022’s “No Rules Sandy.” The band made headlines in 2025 after pulling their discography from music-streaming service Spotify, citing then-CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in European defense startup “Helsing” and the company’s treatment of artists as primary motivating factors.
You can watch the music video for “Concrete Glen” below.
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