After what feels like a lifetime (or, more accurately, almost five years), SHORTSTRAW is officially back. The beloved Johannesburg indie outfit today announces the release of ‘RUBBER ARM’, the first song and music video from their upcoming EP, ‘Everything In Between’, arriving in September. Alongside the new music comes the news fans have been waiting for: SHORTSTRAW will also hit the road this September for a run of headline launch shows across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
For a band that has always done things their own way, this return feels perfectly SHORTSTRAW. There wasn’t some dramatic reunion or carefully planned comeback. Instead, it was a simple realisation among friends that too much time had slipped by.
“One day we realised it had been almost five years since we’d released anything and thought we’d better pull our fingers out and do something about it before we woke up in 2030 wondering where the time had gone,” says frontman Alastair Thomas.
What followed was the familiar SHORTSTRAW recipe: half-finished song ideas, countless studio sessions, producer Jacques du Plessis working his usual magic, and a handful of songs slowly taking shape over the better part of a year at High Sea Studios.
But while the band’s trademark wit and unpredictability remain firmly intact, life has inevitably changed. Over the past few years the members have built businesses, started families and entered entirely new chapters of adulthood. Between them they’ve celebrated marriages, welcomed children into the world – with another on the way – and experienced the inevitable highs and heartbreaks that come with growing older.
Those experiences quietly found their way into the music.
Rather than forcing a concept, the songs naturally gravitated towards themes of life, loss and everything that happens in between. So a much grander plan was created: three EPs, currently planned to be named ‘Life’, ‘Death’, and ‘Everything In Between’. Ironically, the band decided to release the project completely out of order. “We figured we’d start with everything in between. Four songs that don’t really have to mean anything other than we thought they sounded good. Sometimes music doesn’t need a grand explanation; it can just exist because it’s fun.” says Alastair.
That philosophy perfectly introduces ‘RUBBER ARM’, a song that captures the tension of a relationship under pressure and the helpless feeling of watching things begin to unravel. Musically, it ticks every SHORTSTRAW box fans know and love: infectious guitar hooks, driving rhythms, sharp lyrics and enough left turns to keep listeners guessing. It begins with classic indie-pop energy before shifting into heavier territory, eventually exploding into a chant-along finale that practically begs to be shouted back at the band live.
“It’s got a little bit of everything people associate with SHORTSTRAW. Hooky guitars, snarky lyrics, some heavier moments… and hopefully an ending that’ll get stuck in your head.”
The accompanying music video hints at an even bigger story. Rather than simply illustrating the single, it introduces the emotional arc that will eventually stretch across future releases, exploring the rise, decline and eventual end of a relationship.
While the years may have passed, one thing hasn’t changed: making music together is still the best part.
“There were definitely moments where I thought maybe our ship had sailed,” admits Alastair. “But then you get into a room with your friends and make a noise together, and you remember why you started doing this in the first place.”
As for fans wondering whether this is simply nostalgia or the beginning of something new? Perhaps it’s a little of both.
SHORTSTRAW haven’t abandoned the humour, chaos and genre-hopping that made them one of South Africa’s most-loved indie bands. They’ve simply grown up a little – and found even more stories worth telling.
Or, as Alastair puts it best: “SHORTSTRAW isn’t dead. We were just sleeping really deeply. We’re awake now though. Promise.”
Stream RUBBER ARM here: https://shortstraw.ffm.to/rubber-arm
Watch the music video for RUBBER ARM here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArWJgM63-aE
SHORTSTRAW ON TOUR:
Tickets at shortstraw.co.za coming soon!
4 September – Sognage, Johannesburg
5 September – Railways, Pretoria
18 September – District, Cape Town
19 September – Daisy Jones Bar, Stellenbosch
Support acts to be announced!
About the EP // Coming September 2026:
‘Everything In Between’ is the first chapter of a larger body of work from SHORTSTRAW: They will be releasing three EPs which marks the band’s first new collection of music in almost five years and signals the start of an exciting new era for one of South Africa’s most enduring indie acts.
