SEVERE GIRLS – SUNSET MINDSET

New Single

Story by Ben Avery

24/06/2026

Hooky power-pop daydreamers, Severe Girls, return with the bittersweet indie-rock of SUNSET MINDSET

Following the release of their debut EP, Another Night and a growing reputation for delivering fuzzed-out hooks, power-pop melodies and emotionally charged guitar music, North West indie dreamers, Severe Girls return with the bittersweet rush of new single, Sunset Mindset. The band's first material of 2026, Sunset Mindset opens the door on a fresh run of releases. Equal parts reflective and restless, the single finds songwriter Andrew Richardson wrestling with self-doubt, expectation and the uneasy passage of time, all wrapped in the band's most immediate and dynamic songwriting to date. Formulated with a blend of ringing guitars, driving rhythms and an instinct for melody, Sunset Mindset captures the tension between acceptance and anxiety, resignation and rebellion. Beginning in a place of measured reflection before rupturing into something more urgent and unsettled, the song mirrors those connected strands of contradiction. Reflecting on Sunset Mindset, Richardson says: "The phrase 'sunset mindset', in my opinion, bears two meanings. One is a state of calm acceptance and the other is a state of depressive thoughts, or of joy leaving. The song's dynamics capture both states. It was written as a relationship song in some ways, but also about my relationship with music, the industry and the people around it. The resulting feeling of being on your own trying to figure it out before it's 'too late' is the crux of the song." While the song wrestles with validation and the fear of time slipping away, it ultimately reflects the thoughtful self-awareness that has defined Severe Girls from the outset. Rather than surrendering to pessimism, the band pushes back against the notion that creativity comes with an expiry date. As Richardson adds, a sunset mindset is "to feel the arrow of time, the sensation of slipping through the cracks, an impending darkness, and maybe not achieving what you want before it's too late." Pieced together in the overlooked shadowlands between Manchester and Liverpool, Severe Girls continue to mine the fertile ground between American college rock, power-pop and modern UK indie as the latest chapter in Richardson's ongoing musical evolution. Severe Girls remains informed as much by his years behind the drum kit for artists including Thurston Moore, Infinite Bisous, Aldous RH and Francis Lung as by a desire to carve out a voice entirely his own. With more new music scheduled throughout the remainder of 2026, Sunset Mindset marks the beginning of the band's next chapter: bigger hooks, deeper introspection and a continued commitment to finding beauty in amplified guitar music. Alongside Richardson, Severe Girls features Jon Hughes (guitar), Chris Clayden (bass), and Mike Duckworth (drums). Catch Sunset Mindset live on Tue 30 June @ Manchester, Rose and Monkey