Everything old is new again, the saying goes.
So it is for a “new” single from Pleasant Grove, the Dallas indie rock sextet we last heard from back in 2023, when it marked the 20th anniversary of its dazzling record Auscultation of the Heart.
“We never thought of doing things necessarily the ‘right’ way or in the most calculated way to achieve success — we just did things the way we wanted, and at the pace we wanted,” drummer Jeff Ryan said via email in 2023. “Why we’ve lasted so long is the fact that, really, we’re just very close friends [and] family … and we can’t ever think of not being in a band, one way or another, given all the years we’ve spent together, recording, touring, and just being in each other’s lives.”
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Now Ryan, Bret Egner, Chris Mayes, Kim Herriage, Marcus Striplin and Tony Hormillosa are preparing to drop the first new music anyone’s heard from Pleasant Grove in a decade.
The tune in question is the achingly gorgeous “The Weight Won’t Wait,” which, while you can’t hear it on this page, you can hear it if you tune into my colleague Waffles’ “Homegrown Music Show” this Thursday, July 10, at 7 p.m., during which she’ll premiere the song before its official release via streaming services on Friday, July 11.
“Wait” is a stately, finely wrought number which glides along on a chiming acoustic guitar figure before blossoming into a majestic climax of horns, drums and beautifully wordless harmonies.
Ryan explained via email that “Wait” is “an unreleased track from the sessions … when we were recording The Heart Contortionist with [producer] John Congleton back in 2006-07 in various studios around Dallas.” Contortionist had a lengthy gestation: The LP wasn’t released until a decade later in 2016.
In addition to the unexpected song drop, Pleasant Grove has also booked a gig in Deep Ellum near the end of August — Aug. 23, to be exact — to mark Striplin’s birthday and celebrate “Wait” making it out into the world. It’s a rare opportunity to catch Pleasant Grove on a local stage.
Those anticipating a new Pleasant Grove record, however, should temper expectations. As Ryan put it, “who knows when we’ll have new-ish … music?”
Pleasant Grove at Ruins, Dallas. 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23. Tickets are $15.33-$24.55.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
Source: https://kxt.org/2025/07/dallas-pleasant-grove-prepares-to-drop-first-new-music-in-a-decade/
