News

Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade is Lame-O Records’ newest signing. Led by Peter Gill, 2nd Grade are “students of classic power pop… [who] make their own excellent version of it” (Brooklyn Vegan). This is immediately clear in today’s “Cellophane Girls,” their first new single since 2024’s Scheduled Explosions, an album “jam-packed full with adventurous guitars and melodies and playful but often ominous poetry” (Northern Transmissions). “Cellophane Girls” is the band at their sharpest, Gill’s songwriting compelling and referential over a sweet frenzy of instrumentation. As Gill and Catherine Dwyer’s tenors trade off, the lyrics begin to bely a more sober bite: “They say eight billion souls // Are up for sale but no one’s buying // They comb the catalog // For the sound of my baby crying // So hold me I’m going numb // It ain’t no fun it’s // Just another stand by me.”

Gill elaborates: “With ‘Cellophane Girls’ I wanted to write something like a six verse Bob Dylan ballad crammed into the space of a two-and-a-half-minute pop song, a loose tale full of finger-pointing and playful tangents and obscure pathos. It’s meant to come across as pretty open ended. To me it’s a song of empathy, about how hard it is to find your place in the world.”

2nd Grade is Peter Gill (vocals, guitar), Catherine Dwyer (vocals, guitar), Lucas Knapp (bass), and Michael Cormier-O’Leary (drums). Since forming in 2018, the band has released four albums and shared stages with the likes of MJ Lenderman, The Beths, and Dear Nora, as well as various members writing and touring in their other projects Friendship and Remember Sports. 

Stay tuned for more news from 2nd Grade in the coming weeks and catch “Cellophane Girls” live at NYC’s Bazooka Fest on Sat. Aug. 22nd.