PREMIERE: Doom Scroll release new single 'Zugzwang'

Monday, August 24, 2026 - 09:49

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Colorado folk-punks Doom Scroll recently announced their new album, Exhausted Dialogue, out October 6 (pre-save). The 11-track collection marks the band’s first full-length since their 2021 breakthrough, Immoral Compass, expanding their distinctive blend of punk, pop, and folk into their most cinematic and hard-hitting work yet. Today, we’re premiering the band’s new single, “Zugzwang.”

“The term ‘Zugzwang’ comes from chess and means that whatever your next move is, it will inevitably put you in a worse position, and ultimately you’ll lose the game,” explains vocalist and guitarist Elliot Lozier. “Such is the game of war. We disconnect ourselves from war and take sides based on what the media tells us. It’s easy to generalize a group of people and cast judgment while we sit in the comfort of our couches. All the while, innocent people get caught in the crossfire as two sides fight and die for people who would never lift a finger for them. It’s a never-ending cycle of glorified violence and meaningless death that ultimately puts humanity in a worse position.”

Led by Lozier (We the Heathens, Pesky Self, Atrocity Solution, Escape From The ZOO) and Taylor Dittman (Broken Bow, Hermit Stew), Doom Scroll formed in 2020 as a collective of veteran DIY musicians. The lineup also includes bassist Micah Butler (Chatterbox and the Latter Day Satanists, Helga Pataki), guitarist and producer Jon Pizarro of acoustic black-metal project Dead Work, and drummer Marissa Sendejas (Chad Hates George, formerly of Days N Daze). Richard Thomas will join the band as their touring drummer for the upcoming U.S. dates.

Exhausted Dialogue was recorded by Lozier and Pizarro in their bedrooms, continuing Doom Scroll’s deeply rooted DIY approach. The album was mixed and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Jason Livermore.

“Exhausted Dialogue is an album about internal and external struggle,” Lozier explains. “Rarely do we find any kind of reprieve when facing these struggles, and it felt like we were beating a dead horse by singing about these topics again and again.”

The album’s title takes its inspiration from the language of video games.

“There’s a saying in video game culture that when you’re talking to an NPC who can further the story or quest, you should exhaust their dialogue,” Lozier continues. “This means talking to them over and over until they start repeating what they’ve said. I thought the concept matched the lyrical and tonal vibe of the album as a whole and summed up all of the songs pretty well.”

Doom Scroll wanted the album’s musical scope to match the weight of its subject matter, drawing inspiration from cinematic scores while retaining the immediacy and urgency of their live performances.

“We wanted to craft an album that felt like you could be moshing at the gates of Winterfell from Game of Thrones while simultaneously punching Nazis in the face,” Lozier says. “I love movie and television scores, and I was doing my best to integrate that into these songs. I wanted it to feel cinematic.”

Doom Scroll will hit the road with Hans Gruber and the Die Hards for an extensive U.S. tour supporting Exhausted Dialogue, with Richard Thomas joining them on drums. Hans Gruber and the Die Hards will appear on all dates except September 11 in Denton and September 12 in Oklahoma City.

Upcoming tour dates: