Split single, two A sides from Assistant and Goodbye Wudaokou

By Henry Lipput

 Assistant’s Certain Memories and Goodbye Wudaokou’s Anything Of Us have been two of the most well-received albums of 2025. So it’s not surprising these Subjangle label mates and supporters of each other’s music have decided to combine their talents to each release a brand-new song as part of a (very) limited edition vinyl split single (30 copies total!!) on Bandcamp.

Not many do bittersweet better than Assistant and on their newest song “Flowers” the lyrics of a lost relationship are set against a pop tune.  “When we meet should we choose somewhere neutral/It won’t be fruitful if the memories are brutal/And will we hug or just there, awkwardly?” 

Unlike the Assistant song which imagines an eventual meeting of lovers, the Goodbye Wudaokou track “Sky Lantern” has no such thoughts and makes clear the two sides of the same coin these bands share. The Bandcamp page describes the song as “Intimate, mournful” and I  couldn’t say it better myself. “You only exist in the memory of a kiss/You only exist in the sun-whitened photographs/The ones I still cannot bear to see.”