If you’ve been waiting to see what Air Drawn Dagger would do after closing the book on their debut album era with a sold-out London headline show in April, the wait is officially over — and the answer is louder, sharper, and a whole lot more chaotic than you might have bargained for.

The UK trio have returned with a brand-new single, “Me & My Friends (We’re Trying Asbestos We Can),” along with an accompanying video. It’s the first proper signal of what’s next for the band, and rather than easing fans back in with something safe, Maisie, Lewis, and Ross have come out swinging.

Recorded with Jim Pinder — the producer behind records by Sleep Token, Hot Milk, Bullet for My Valentine, and Neck Deep — the track captures Air Drawn Dagger at their most focused. There’s still that emotional gut-punch that defined the early material, but it’s been sharpened, darkened, and pushed into more refined territory. Think of it less as a continuation and more as a hard pivot into a new creative chapter.

According to the band, the song was written in a cabin in the German mountains during a brief stretch between tour dates — a period they describe as one of “exhaustion, closeness, and reflection.” That tension is baked into the track itself. The band built the song around contrast rather than compromise, pairing a communal, almost “campfire-style” chorus with some of the heaviest, most unhinged moments they’ve ever committed to tape. The result is three minutes of melodic anguish that swings between warmth and violence, connection and burnout, clarity and noise.

It’s the kind of song that does exactly what a comeback single should: it tells you the band has grown without abandoning what made them worth paying attention to in the first place. Outlets like BBC Introducing have already compared their sound to a midpoint between Hot Milk and Beartooth, while Distorted Sound called the band’s range “mind-blowing.” On the evidence of this single, that praise is starting to look like an understatement.

Air Drawn Dagger are also gearing up for a busy run of UK shows, including a support slot with Dead Pony in Sheffield on May 31, headline dates in Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Leeds, and Edinburgh through the summer, and an appearance at the D.H. Lawrence Festival on September 5.

Stream “Me & My Friends (We’re Trying Asbestos We Can)” on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/11HaxoLRv5rUJfNmabD6Zh

Watch the official video here: https://youtu.be/YKxhO6PYWpc

If you’re new to the band, their debut album “A Guide For Apparitions” is also out now and well worth a deep dive before catching them on the road this year.