Bicentennial Drug Lord’s “Thaw” Is a Prayer for Spring From the People Who Need It Most

Anyone who has survived a winter in the Upper Midwest knows the particular cruelty of late March — the calendar insists spring has arrived, but outside it’s still gray, still cold, still endless. Milwaukee’s Bicentennial Drug Lord have been there, and “Thaw” is the song that feeling deserves.

Out March 27 on Vfib Recordings, the new single finds Rick Donner, John Daniels, and Alan Weatherhead doing what they do best — that Midwestern rock and roll drive that puts them in the same conversation as The Jayhawks and Wilco, rooted and road-worn and completely unpretentious about it. The band calls it a “prayer for spring to come,” and that’s exactly what it feels like.

The track was recorded with Alex Farrar — the man behind the boards for MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, and Merce Lemon — at Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville, NC. That pedigree shows. It’s a clean, warm recording that gives the song room to breathe without losing any of its ache.

“Thaw” is a standalone single while the band wraps up a new full-length. In the meantime their 2025 LP You Are Never Alone is right there waiting — and if this single is any indication of where they’re headed, the next record is going to be worth the wait.

Stream You Are Never Alone on Bandcamp ↗