“Pawnshop Dollar Bills,” the new single from The Dead Tongues, is out everywhere today.

When Ryan Gustafson started making music under The Dead Tongues moniker years ago, he was beginning to turn his focus toward acoustic instruments. It came after years and years of playing music through big amps and effects pedals — he was thrilled by the absence of electricity, and drawn to the minimalism that was required in more stripped-back folk arrangements. It’s been a through-line in his songwriting over the years, something that still draws him in. But he’s started to slowly return to the electric guitar, an instrument which feels simultaneously both familiar and foreign for Gustafson.

In recording his new single and latest release since 2020 LP ‘Transmigration Blues,’ Gustafson captures that push-and-pull. On “Pawnshop Dollar Bills,” it’s all there — rediscovery and unknown territory, an energetic push toward something that feels alive.