Somewhere between the DIY pop of the 1980s to today (Marine Girls, Sarah Records, The Gentle Waves) and Swedish indie pop of the late 2000s (Sambassadeur, Alpaca Sports), the Stuttgart-based, female-led band collective The Simple Present can be quite comfortably placed. Cathrin (vocals, guitar) and Sabine (backing vocals, keyboard) started out as a lo-fi living room project, initially without any intention of making the results accessible beyond their circle of friends. In 2024, however, a demo recording of I’ll Take That With Me ended up in the hands of Ronny Pinkau (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten), who enthusiastically exclaimed: “Let’s make a record immediately!!!” (and how can you blame him?).
Even before releasing a single track, the band attracted the attention of various concert promoters after their first performance in early 2025. This led, among other things, to an invitation to Cologne Popfest in April 2025. For Cologne Popfest, the band released a strictly limited lathe-cut 7″ single featuring exclusive pre-release versions of two songs (one of them, I’ll Take That With Me, was premiered here), which sold out within minutes and received very positive feedback from international indie blogs and online radio shows. This, in turn, caught the attention of the established indie pop label Shelflife Records, ultimately leading to a joint international release of their wonderful debut mini-album, Early Days which will be out on 23 May 2026. I Found Something, the album’s first single, will be out on Sunday, April 12th, but we’re streaming it now in exclusive premiere on TRISTE© ahead of its official release.

What They Say: “I Found Something was written in Cathrin’s living room. As a passionate walker, she tried to capture what it feels like to be alone without feeling lost. The song starts with a distinctive guitar riff by our producer Flow that hooks you right away.“

The Simple Present’s new single embodies everything we love about indie pop: melancholic, yet never desperate. It seems to breathe in the shadows, sweet and delicate, never fully revealing itself, yet never retreating behind a curtain of excessive shyness.
A subtle emotional tension runs throughout, and every sound gently reinforces it, without excess, just enough to sustain the atmosphere. In the finest jangle pop tradition, nothing here explicitly demands attention: there are no explosions of sound, no sudden turns, and the song unfolds patiently, almost reluctantly.
Guided by its delightful opening riff, we find ourselves stepping into a warm, comforting space almost without noticing. The taste I Found Something leaves behind is hard to define, and even harder to shake.

I Found Something will be out April 12th. Pre-order for the mini-album Early Days, out on Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten and Shelflife Records starts 23 April 2026. Release shows are going to be in Hamburg on Friday 22 May 2026 at SLOT, in Berlin on Saturday 23 May 2026 at Schokoladen and in Stuttgart on Saturday, 25 July 2026 at Kulturbunker.. Look HERE for more information on The Simple Present.