Southern California alternative rock outfit Strange Case have announced their new album, Gone For A While, a project the band describes as the clearest realization yet of the sound they have been working toward for the past decade.
The album marks a major new chapter for Strange Case, who have spent nearly 10 years carving out their own lane in the Southern California alternative scene. Founded by Sublime guitarist and songwriter Zane Vandevort and Michael Netka, the band was the first artist signed to Jakob Nowell’s independent label SVN/BVRNT and has become a familiar name within the extended Sublime world.
Over the years, Strange Case have supported Sublime on multiple headline dates, appeared aboard the Reef Madness cruise, performed at all three editions of the official Sublime Festival, and recently completed their first national tour alongside Jakobs Castle, Strawberry Fuzz, and Spray Allen.
According to the band, Gone For A While reflects both musical and personal growth. The title speaks to the last several years of their lives, as the group navigated personal and professional changes after 2020 while trying to find their way back to the project.
“In 2025 we came back together, started writing again, and toured relentlessly,” the band shared. “We’ve grown a lot since our last release, and this record is our way of reflecting on that growth and telling those stories honestly.”
The album’s upcoming single, “Waiting for the Weekend,” is due out July 10. The band describes the track as a song about perspective, communication, and the emotional distance that can build when two people are living inside different versions of the same relationship.
“There’s no absolute truth in relationships, just two versions of the same story, with the real truth sitting somewhere in between,” Vandevort explains. “Most relationships fall apart not from a single moment, but from a lack of communication and an inability to understand each other’s perspective.”
Rooted in DIY spirit and the punk-rock ethos that helped shape Southern California music, Strange Case pull from surf culture, alternative rock, late-night drives, backyard parties, and the laid-back edge of the coast they call home. Their music has already reached rock and alternative stations across the country, including KROQ and 102.1 Rock, while their single “27 Club” has surpassed one million streams. Their song “Superfly” was also featured in season two of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and in Stab Magazine’s Best Wetsuits series.
With Gone For A While, Strange Case are documenting a period of change, uncertainty, and reconnection, turning the weight of their twenties into songs meant to meet listeners in their hardest moments.
“Music has always been what makes the weight of life feel a little lighter,” the band says, “and we want this record to do the same.”
