Worlds Greatest Dad Share New Single 'The Ocean'

Atlanta’s worlds greatest dad is sharing the second single from their sophomore album, Better Luck Next Time, with “The Ocean.”

The new single acts as a bit of a love letter to the weird and wild parts of Florida that are so dear to worlds greatest dad’s principal songwriter Maddie Duncan (they/them) who grew up roaming the swamps and swimming in the ocean. They don't mince words, though, with a clear-eyed take on the starkness between the natural beauty, freedom, and joy they associate with the state and an understanding of the more bizarre and backward leanings of some of the state's inhabitants.

As Duncan is wont to do throughout their songwriting there is a hefty dose of tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation on “The Ocean” with Duncan singing, "I'm broke as / a joke now / spent all my money on this record / I hope that it plays out / so I don't have to work at checkers." The music video for The Ocean was shot by Duncan and their partner, Monica Misiak, on a trip to St. Augustine this summer. It’s a little slice of that beach life that Duncan yearns for; following them as they go fishing, hit a gun store, have their debit card declined for a 50-cent purchase, and zoom down the palm tree-lined streets on a moped.

Speaking to the new single Maddie Duncan writes: "I spent most of my childhood in Florida, running through the swamp and swimming in the ocean. I know people love to s on the place, but I’m a Florida Man at heart. It’s a wild and weird state complete with beautiful landscapes and wildlife, some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and hate speech plastered on yard signs. Similarly, “The Ocean” is also a mixed bag, minus the hate speech and add some self-deprecating thoughts that I probably have because of all of the hate speech. A little “cApItALisM sucks” and dulls you as time goes on, but also a little love letter to a special place and person that always brings me back to that same freedom and state of joy I felt as a child. This one goes out to all the weirdos and queers that struggle with their love for a place that doesn’t always love them back."

Better Luck Next Time, which is coming out September 13th on SideOneDummy, was written in 2020, but is no less pertinent today. Better Luck Next Time’s 13 songs tussle between the vulnerability of Duncan’s lyrics and the defiance of the sonics that surround them. Opener “Twenty Deer” starts as a timid minor chord lament, but when Maddie Duncan sings ‘I’ve been too disappointed in myself to enjoy anything...like you’ the song suddenly explodes in a wall of lush but still morose sound that both defies and exasperates their emotional state. It’s raw and real, cathartic and cleansing, and the rest of the record follows suit. It’s the sound of Duncan’s truth exploding, pouring out untamed and uncensored, unable to be contained any longer, and molded majestically by the band into something that both perfectly represents their emotions and transcends them. 

worlds greatest dad, the four piece of Maddie Duncan on vocals and guitar, Keagan Krogh on guitar and keys, Matt Hendler holding down percussion and Ben Etter on bass and backing vocals, recorded their sophomore album partially at Maze Studios in Atlanta, while filling in the rest in their respective homes in 2020. The band doesn’t shy away from the emo/pop-punk influences that permeate their earlier recordings, but on their second LP have embraced their roots and, as Duncan calls it, the redneck emo sound that is deeply influenced by their youth growing up in the backwoods of Florida.

Better Luck Next Time Tracklist

1. Twenty Deer

2. KO

3. The Ocean

4. Concrete (A Love Song)

5. Bike Song

6. Better Luck Next Time

7. Taking One For The Team

8. Two Birds

9. Bad Neighborhood

10. Method Larping

11. Private Hell

12. Fakin’ A Smile

13. Speed Limit

Photo Credit:  Monica Misiak

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