New Shiny Object

Initially planned as a live recording, Fujiya and Miyagi shaped New Shiny Object around a stripped-back approach, keeping the essentials while leaning into directness and the band’s melodic strength. As David Best puts it, they wanted each part of every song to connect “like the mechanism in a watch.”

That sense of focus runs through all nine tracks. New Shiny Object makes room for personal loss and fatherhood, balancing open emotion with a wry humour. David Best is in especially sharp form here, delivering lyrics with his vivid, pithy view of the world.

It’s a concise record that speaks plainly and often movingly. In David Best’s own words, getting older has meant being more open, letting his guard down, and being brave enough to say exactly how he feels.