Kai Slater just shared that Sharp Pins, his bedroom pop project, is dropping a brand-new album called Balloon Balloon Balloon on November 21 through K/Perennial.
While working on music from January to May, Slater split his time between recording at home in Chicago and also at Mobile Control, which is Hayes Waring’s studio in Olympia, Washington. The first single, “(I Wanna) Be Your Girl,” already has a super colorful video made by Grace Bader Conrad, and it’s definitely worth a watch.
Long before this, Slater put out Turtle Rock in 2023 on Hallogallo Tapes, which is his own label. Then came Radio DDR the next year, first by himself and later with a bigger release thanks to K and Perennial in March.
Lifeguard, his other band, has Slater playing guitar and singing, with Asher Case on bass, baritone guitar, and vocals, and Isaac Lowenstein handling drums and synths. Their first album, Ripped and Torn, landed in June.
Fans sometimes wonder how he finds the time for all these bands and albums.
Here’s the full tracklist for Balloon Balloon Balloon, and wow, there are a lot of songs:
01 Popafangout
02 I Don’t Have the Heart
03 I Could Find Out
04 Queen of Globes and Mirrors
05 (I Wanna) Be Your Girl
06 Gonna Learn To Crawl
07 Balloon 1
08 I Don’t Adore-Youo
09 All the Prefabs
10 Talking in Your Sleep
11 Fall in Love Again
12 Serene Haus of Hair
13 (In a While) You’ll Be Mine
14 Balloon 2
15 Ex-Priest / In a Hole of a Home
16 Takes So Long
17 Stop to Say “Hello”
18 All the Shops and Stores Are Closing Now
19 Maria Don’t
20 Crown of Thorns
21 Balloon 3
So many “balloon” songs—makes you think of a parade or a party, right?
