That new 300SkullsAndCounting and Jenny Sparks song is good

I love turning on a record and feeling like I have no idea what the hell is going on, which might be why 300SkullsAndCounting and Jenny Sparks instantly charmed me with last week’s collab album THIS IS SPA TOWN! Their music is deliberately trollish and erratic; you might call it indietronica or screamo or bassline or chiptune or an amalgam of the above. Depending on who you ask (or how old you are), their joint work is reminiscent of 100 gecs or Brokencyde, but it’s probably simpler to say the duo are synthesizing something wonkily enthralling out of decidedly lowbrow inspirations. That new 300SkullsAndCounting and Jenny Sparks song is good, actually, and it marks a bold step for the pair.

300SkullsAndCounting and Jenny Sparks.Callum Hansen / via publicist

In another era, their commitment to catharsis over cool might have relegated them to minor circuit irrelevance, but in 2026, chest-thumping affinity for the previously unchic seems like the only un-LARP-able mark of authenticity left. So despite their relatively low profile and early career arc, the pair’s latest release arrives via XL Recordings, the prestigious indie label behind Jai Paul, KeiyAa, and Jim Legxacy, among others. Naturally, the pair generated a minor flurry of exaggerated praise and handwringing about the state of music when their polarizing lead single “The Ballad of St. Nick’s Park” hit certain corners of the RYM-adjacent web two weeks ago.

“Ballad of St. Nick’s” opens with a chintzy keytar riff, which is quickly joined by a tinny flute and wobbly metallic bass. 300Skulls alternates between punky shouts and a ridiculous, slavering screamo register, like he’s playacting the monster under your bed. The track is mostly about growing up and blowing up, but the semantics matter less than the feeling of total abandon, like 300Skulls is perfectly untouchable and listening to his music might impart some of that same invulnerability to you, the listener.

THIS IS SPA TOWN! is thematically thin, but I would never call it unserious, even with its freewheeling ethos and tongue-in-cheek headfakes. In fact, I’d say the only thing I’m sure 300SkullsAndCounting takes seriously is his music, even if that entails occasional bouts of eye-rolling performance art, like acapella counting as part of his live show. As silly and insufferable as the bit might seem to the haters, there’s a lot to love in someone who believes in committing to something and following through.