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OK Cool—the band of Chicago shredders Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquist Waller—today shared their new single “Safety Car”, the latest preview of their debut album Chit Chat, due out August 1st, 2025. The track–which features twinkling synths over OK Cool’s most endearingly pop chorus to date–arrives with a playful video created by Joe Baughman. "This song is about the people in your life that make you feel loved and grounded. I wrote it last year with my husband in mind while we were starting to plan our wedding,” explains Blomquist Waller. “There are references in the lyrics to things we do together that I know, in the future, I will look back on as peaceful vignettes. It’s about feeling nostalgic and grateful for things as they’re happening."
Of the video, Baughman adds: "I love getting to work with OK Cool (legends) because they're always down to clown and their music tends to fit my visual aesthetic. With 'Safety Car,' I set out to create an intersection of pro and lo-fi (which is how the song felt to me; really polished but still DIY and real), building a full-on set but mainly using cardboard and construction paper and a projection screen made out of a tarp. It was so fun to shoot! Shoutout to H+B for dancing wholeheartedly in a very warm two-headed sweater."
The charming union of Stiebris and Blomquist Waller reaches confident new heights on Chit Chat, an irresistible document of the duo's dogged DIY spirit and close knit creative connection. Arriving after three EPs released over the course of five years, their auspicious debut full-length finds them building upon the trademark sound that helped grant their status as one of the most exciting bands in Chicago. While half of the songs that comprised 2023’s acclaimed fawn EP clocked in at under 2 minutes, Chit Chat sees the duo strengthening their oeuvre within more traditional song lengths. "This was definitely an intentional part of the writing process for the album,” Stiebris explains. “I'm into the idea of telling a story, communicating an idea, but not taking up more time than I absolutely need to—this often results in pretty short songs. With Chit Chat, I tried to feel more comfortable taking up that space.”
“This record to me definitely centers around communication, hence the title Chit Chat,” Stiebris says. “I think it’s kind of a tongue-in-cheek reflection of both how Haley and I write–sending voice memos and song demos to each other via text message–and the actual action of talking person to person. A lot of these lyrics look back on certain interactions I’ve had and how they could have gone better, what I could have done differently, et cetera, and how they ended up affecting me emotionally.” Chit Chat is ultimately the sound of two best friends collaborating effortlessly to craft a singular sonic language. The 10-track LP was entirely written, performed, and produced by Stiebris and Blomquist, with engineering support from fellow Chicago musicians Avery Black, Brad Harvey, and Wesley Reno. Chicago friends Josh Kayne (drums) and Tommy Kessler (guitar) round out their live band.
