Dragged Up Champion the Misfits on Frenetic New Single “Rapunzel”

Glasgow outfit Dragged Up shares “Rapunzel,” the blistering A-side of a new double single backed by the brooding companion piece “Black Carbon,” available only for physical purchase. Equal parts garage-punk, art rock, and glorious racket, “Rapunzel” is a tribute to the disaffected ‘60s teenagers who made beautiful noise in their garages, pairing primitive riffs, frenetic X-Ray Spex-inspired saxophone, and relentless momentum into one of the band's most immediate releases to date. Together, the two tracks offer another glimpse into the band’s forthcoming third album, Trzy.

“‘Rapunzel’ is a celebration of all the freak flag flyers of the world, outsiders, counter-culture don’t give-a-fuckers, and everyone who doesn’t fit neatly into a box,” says songwriter Simon Shaw. “It’s inspired by all ‘punk’ in the true sense of the word – the beautifully compiled Crypt Records “Back From The Grave” series, John Coltrane, Lester Bangs, James White and the Contortions, Sham 69, X-Ray Spex…”

The song’s title takes its cue from a mythical figure reimagined through Dragged Up’s off-kilter lens. Shaw envisions Rapunzel as an unknowable, tower-dwelling creature whose only concern is blasting battered garage records into the sky while the misunderstood, the curious, and the beautifully strange gather below. “The perfect name for any long-haired, beautiful, fairytale, tower-dwelling creature,” he says.

Listen to “Rapunzel” HERE. Watch the accompanying video HERE.

“Rapunzel” refuses to settle into one sound. Punk riffs crash into twin guitar and saxophone solos before spiralling into a descending key-change that gives way to a Kinks-inspired breakdown, packing an astonishing amount into a tightly wound three-minute burst.

Although the song arrived almost fully formed, it continued to evolve in the studio. Eva Gnatiuk suggested replacing an upward modulation with the now-defining descent into doom, while guest vocalist Mel Whittle (Count Florida) added backing vocals and saxophonist Sofia Ween brought a final layer of chaos during a last-minute recording session.

Recorded live with engineer Tommy Duffin at Glasgow’s 16 Ohm Studio, the track captures the immediacy Dragged Up were chasing from the outset. Aside from vocals and saxophone overdubs, the performance unfolds live in the room, with Duffin shaping a guitar sound Shaw describes as sitting somewhere in the Mudhoney camp. “If you’re working with the right person, all you have to worry about is getting a good take,” Shaw says.

B-side “Black Carbon” offers a darker, more cinematic counterbalance. Inspired by the fossil-strewn coastline of Scotland’s west coast, the song turns late-night landscapes into reflections on memory, place, and the human condition. Featuring acclaimed Irish violist Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh, it expands Dragged Up’s already shifting sound while complementing the restless energy of “Rapunzel.”

Together, the two songs preview Trzy, the band’s forthcoming third album. The record moves through societal outsiders, psychogeography, metamorphosis, fever dreams, and fragments of lives lived before, embracing stylistic extremes while maintaining a distinct identity.

“We’ve been described many times as a band that’s difficult to pigeonhole,” says Eva Gnatiuk. “We believe that’s what makes us unique. Trzy is an album in the traditional, old-school sense of the word. It’s a cohesive, cinematic journey populated by a shifting cast of distinct characters and locations.”

Formed in Glasgow in late 2018 by Gnatiuk and Shaw, Dragged Up also features Stephen Mors and Lauren Peters. Across two albums, an EP, and multiple singles, the band has developed a sound that draws from garage-psych, art-punk, experimental rock, and post-doom. Their live shows combine the force of punk with precise musicianship, earning admiration from John Dieterich of Deerhoof, Jim Smith of The Nightingales, and Stephen Malkmus. In 2025, The Hard Quartet invited Dragged Up to join them for a 10-date UK and European tour.

The band’s music has received praise from The Wire, Record Collector, SNACK Scotland, and Louder Than War, with airplay from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Freak Zone, KEXP, WFMU, and Radio Free Brooklyn. Trzy will be released in Canada via Label Obscura and in the UK via Cruel Nature Records.