On July 3th weekend, Salt Lake City’s Die Shiny handed America something it actually needed: a gut-punch of a song that asks what “good citizen” even means anymore. “Gold Star, Good Citizen” was released on 3 July and it’s a hard left turn for a band who’ve spent years soundtracking sweaty, glitter-soaked dancefloors. Gone is the synthpop sheen, in its place: soaring vocals, guitars that hang in the air like smoke, bass synths that swell like something’s about to break, and a percussion track built from actual bodies. The origin story is almost effortless. The choice of release date was absolutely incredible! A fan once told the band, only half-joking, that they should write the new national anthem. Crofts didn’t laugh it off:

“A fan recently commented that we should write the new national anthem. If I were ever to attempt such a thing, this would be that song.”

Callie Crofts, Die Shiny

Vocalist and songwriter Callie Crofts wrote the whole thing in one morning. One week later it was being performed, stripped down, no frills, on the steps of the Utah State Capitol, at a protest. Highly recommend!