Johanna Samuels turns a teenage rite of passage into a song with Blue vs. Pinkerton, the new single and video from her forthcoming album Sorry, Kid, out August 14th via Odd Man Out Recordings and Jealous Butcher.
The track leans into the alternative rock of the two Weezer records it pits against each other, and grew out of a songwriting prompt asking Samuels to capture a specific time and place. She chose her sophomore and junior years of high school.
“I thought about Weezer and how much I loved them. I found out about them when a boy I liked asked if I was a Pinkerton girl or a Blue Album girl and I pretended I knew what he was talking about,” Samuels recalls. “What he ended up turning me onto impacted me way more than the crush… I felt the debate was a perfect metaphor for what that time was like so I wove the memories around that as a chorus.”
Sorry, Kid was recorded to tape with producer Jonathan Rado (Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, The Killers), gathering songs written as far back as 2007 alongside newer work. Features come from Samuels’ LA circle, among them Madison Cunningham, Courtney Marie Andrews, Tyler Ballgame and Erin Rae. Blue vs. Pinkerton follows earlier singles White Limousine (with Courtney Marie Andrews), Two People and the Moon and Circles (with Tyler Ballgame).
Sorry, Kid (14th August 2026) Odd Man Out Recordings / Jealous Butcher
Pre-save the album here | Bandcamp pre-save here
Johanna Samuels will play headline shows live in Los Angeles at Zebulon on August 15, and in New York City at Union Pool on August 25, as well as a Kingston, NY show supporting Mikaela Davis.
Sorry, Kid is due out on August 14 via Odd Man Out Recordings.
Tour Dates
8/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
8/25 – New York City, NY @ Union Pool
9/4 – Kingston, NY @ Assembly*
9/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
9/11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Bottlerocket Social Hall*
9/12 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall*
9/13 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern*
9/15 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz*
9/16 – Burlington, VT @ Foam Brewers*
9/17 – Manchester, VT @ Billsville House Concerts*
9/18 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room*
9/19 – Albany, NY @ Lark Hall*
*with Mikaela Davis