Kewl Haze are the psych-rock duo you didn’t know you needed — and ‘Double Black Diamond’ proves it

There’s a Philly duo out here making psych-rock that hits like a cold beer on a Tuesday afternoon when you should probably be doing something else — and honestly? We’re here for every second of it.

Kewl Haze (yes, the band, not the weed strain — though we understand the confusion) just dropped their new single Double Black Diamond via PaperCup Music, and it’s the kind of track that makes you stare at the ceiling and question your life choices in the best possible way. Think Tame Impala meets Beck at a Flaming Lips show, with MGMT playing in the parking lot.

The duo — Dan Scott Forreal and Derek Sheehan — are both multi-instrumentalists, producers, songwriters, and mix engineers. Basically, they’re the kind of people who would be insufferable if the music wasn’t so damn good. Lucky for us, it is.

Double Black Diamond is a wild, sprawling ride — beatnik percussion, rise-and-fall dynamics, squiggly guitars, angelic harmonies, outer-space synths, and a bass line in the chorus that channels a seriously tripped-out James Jamerson. The Beatles-esque chorus sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you’re deep in electro dance-rock territory with no desire to leave.

Lyrically, the song lives at that uncomfortable crossroads we all know a little too well — when one part of your life starts pulling against another. For Forreal and Sheehan, it was the tension between going all-in on the album (creatively, spiritually, chemically) while the real world kept sending invoices. Jobs. Relationships. Family side-eyes. The whole deal.

“Live it up today, tomorrow I’ll figure out the rest” — that line isn’t just a lyric. It’s basically a manifesto for anyone who’s ever chosen the song over the sensible thing.

The single is a preview of their debut full-length, ‘Suburban Sherpa’ — an 11-track journey four years in the making. Four. Years. Of home studios, professional studios, hectic life moments, and apparently a lot of beer-fueled honesty sessions before hitting record.

“We would have a couple of beers before studio sessions, talk about life, and that led to an openness in the studio,” Forreal says. Sheehan adds: “A lot of life happened in the span of making the record, some hectic and difficult situations, but we laughed our asses off.”

That combo — raw vulnerability wrapped in a sense of humor — is exactly what makes ‘Suburban Sherpa’ feel like something real. These aren’t guys performing cool. They’re guys who went through it and came out the other side with 11 songs and a story worth telling.

Stream Double Black Diamond now on Spotify and get ready. ‘Suburban Sherpa’ is coming.