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April 3, 2025 – Vancouver indie-rock band Concrete Vehicles have unveiled their latest single, “Text Stop,” the second track from their 7-inch AA single Cut Ties / Text Stop. The song arrives as a follow-up to their 2025 full-length album Station on the Hill, and the accompanying music video leans heavily into 1960s and 1970s retro-futuristic aesthetics.
Guitarist and vocalist Ben Lock explains that “Text Stop” was sparked by long drives through the rural stretches of Ontario. “I tried to imagine the life of a character who never left one of those small towns,” Lock says. “It’s an attempt to empathize with that situation—looking back on your life, thinking about the dreams you could have pursued, but you chose comfort instead.”
The song itself is a blend of jangly guitars, steady percussion, and a slightly melancholic vocal delivery, capturing the tension between ambition and inertia. The production is crisp, with a lo-fi warmth that complements the theme of nostalgia. For fans of the band’s previous work, “Text Stop” continues the introspective, narrative-driven songwriting that defined Station on the Hill, but with a more stripped-down arrangement.
The music video, directed by Kit Baronas, takes the track’s introspective tone and translates it into a visual story of resistance and conformity. “Drawing inspiration from the retro sci-fi of the 1960s and ’70s, I wanted to create a scenario that explores the textures of science fiction,” Baronas explains. “The body laces with its environment, gradually losing its individuality as our cities become increasingly uniform.”
In the video, the band members appear in black ski masks, acting as a group of revolutionaries. They plot in dark basements and march through streets while despotic structures loom overhead. Some of the bodies are coated in metallic textures—silver, leaden grey beneath cloud-choked skies. The visual contrast between the gritty, low-tech revolutionaries and the sterile, oppressive architecture underscores the song’s themes of personal confinement and the cost of staying safe.
“Cut Ties,” the A-side of the single, was released earlier and has already garnered positive attention from indie-rock outlets and college radio. The AA format highlights the band’s range: “Cut Ties” is more urgent and driving, while “Text Stop” dwells in a slower, more reflective space. Together, they offer a succinct snapshot of Concrete Vehicles’ current sound.
The single is out now via Dine Alone Records, a Canadian independent label known for nurturing alt-rock and indie acts. The band has not yet announced a full tour for 2025, but industry insiders expect a series of US and Canadian dates to follow the single release, possibly in support of the album.
Concrete Vehicles formed in Vancouver in the early 2020s and quickly built a reputation for literate, emotionally direct songwriting. Their 2025 album Station on the Hill was praised for its cohesive mood and Lock’s
