Big Stir Records and NICK FRATER are pleased to bring you the second single from the hit album AERODROME MOTEL, as “Stuck In My Ways” sees release September 2, with pre-order open now at bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com (and the album available on CD at record stores worldwide and streaming everywhere: orcd.co/nickfrater-aerodromemotel). As has become a Frater tradition, the single features an exclusive, non-album B-side: “God Save Miss America” which was completed within the past week and in between sessions for Nick's next album already in progress!

“Stuck In My Ways” already stands as one of the most-played album cuts across the global pop rock radio scene, so its appearance as a single is no surprise. “It's a song about adult male mental health,” Frater tells us. “I think it’s a positive step that people can talk more openly about their mental health than they could even a few years ago. This song was inspired by various conversations with friends about challenges they’ve faced over the years, the use of antidepressants and self-medication of various kinds. I’ve combined this with some of my own perspectives, and am proud of how the lyrics on this turned out. Hopefully it captures the core of some of these conversations... but also hopefully delivered with a catchy tune!” Musically, it features the father/son team Kevin and Scott Robertson from the high-flying Scottish band The Vapour Trails. “Stuck In My Ways” is jangle-rock at its best, with Jake Smith’s chiming guitars evoking the spirit of peak-era Teenage Fanclub.

The exclusive and brand-new B-side “God Save Miss America” is something completely different for Frater. It's a scathing political broadside about modern American culture that starts harsh and only gets harsher. “It feels kind of odd to have a made a song that feels a bit R.E.M., Monster era,” says Nick. “Not my usual bag at all, but the songs go where the songs go!” Hedging his bets as an outsider, Frater took a moment to run the lyrics by Big Stir label heads Christina and Rex in California, who both agreed that Frater's perspective was, if anything, more clear-eyed than could come from an average befuddled American in the thick of it all. “Sweet home, where insurgents roam / In a cult of personality,” Frater sings, leaving little doubt as to the target of his ire. “The only thing that struck me as questionable was referring to a 'game show host' rather than 'reality show host,' but they could quite possibly be the same thing being that there was a completion of sorts!” adds Nick. As usual – and here with a blistering protest song – Frater's mix of craft, heart, wit and sheer talent guarantee that whatever type of song he sets out to tackle, the result will inevitably be in the upper echelons of the idiom. God save Nick Frater, we say, now and forever.