Sweet Pill are stepping into a whole new era, and it feels like the spark we’ve all been waiting for. The Philadelphia/New Jersey favourites have announced their second album Still There’s A Glow, landing March 13th through Hopeless Records, and they’re kicking things off with a brilliant new single called No Control. If you’ve been following their rise since Where the Heart Is, this moment has been brewing for a while, and the new track makes it clear the band are coming back sharper, heavier and more open than ever.
No Control is the first song they finished for the album, and you can really feel the honesty baked into it. Zayna Youssef talks about being stuck in a pretty rough headspace at the time, where boundaries didn’t exist and self worth felt low. The track became her way of admitting that everything needed to change, and the way she delivers that confession over rushing guitars and huge vocals is exactly why Sweet Pill have connected with so many listeners. The video, directed by Johnny Komar, matches the mood perfectly and sets the stage for what this era is all about.
The story behind the record is one a lot of people will relate to. After a whirlwind few years of touring with The Wonder Years and La Dispute, landing co-signs from Hayley Williams and Doja Cat, building a passionate fanbase and playing festivals all over the place, the band hit a wall. They’d been constantly writing but couldn’t shake the pressure that came with their growing success. When they tried to start the new album, things just didn’t click. So they scrapped almost everything and started again, choosing to move at their own pace instead of forcing a record they didn’t believe in.
That reset changed everything. The album became their first fully written as a group, and you can hear that unity. Some songs feel huge and confident, others sit in softer reflection, but all of them carry that theme of breaking down the version of yourself that isn’t working and slowly finding the one that is. Zayna describes it as putting out a fire yet still spotting that last ember glowing, ready to spark something better. It’s the kind of growth that doesn’t hide the struggle, and that honesty is what makes Sweet Pill such a powerful band right now.
Recorded with Matt Weber and Dave Downham at Gradwell House, the album captures both their explosive live energy and the nuances of everything they’ve been carrying internally. It’s an evolution without losing the charm that brought fans in from the start. If No Control is the first taste, we’re in for something special when the full tracklist drops in March.
Sweet Pill are also set to appear at Download Festival in the UK next summer, which feels like perfect timing for a record built on resilience, reflection and that spark that refuses to go out.
