Exclusive Premiere: Pop-punk Luminaries Lesibu Grand Celebrate the Cosplaying Community in New Video “Friends with My Friends”

At the core of pop-punk luminaries Lesibu Grand’s best tracks is an infectious joy. Even when harnessed ironically in their acerbic breakout “W.F.S.” the band crafts tunes that don’t just get stuck in your head on endless repeat, but you actually want them to. Nowhere is that more true on their latest “Friends with My Friends” which summons the ghost of Ric Ocasek for a joyful powerpop anthem. The band’s video transforms them into a squad of Pink Power Rangers in a sea of cosplaying community. There’s a palpable sense that the video was as fun to shoot as it is to watch. Created in collaboration with Von Phoenix of the legendary Punk Black collective, the video exudes an energy we could all use a little more of right now.

Singer Tyler-Simone Molton tells us the song came about “after tackling a series of political and social issues in songs like We Fucking Suck (WFS), Hot Glue Gun, and Not Sweet Enough, we wanted to write something uplifting and fun loving. Through the darkest days of the Trump and COVID era, we were able to rely on our friends to pick our spirits up and make us smile. That’s really special, and it deserves its own song and video. Our message is that friendships are very valuable and worth putting real effort into keeping them healthy and real. And also that its important to make room for new friendships to keep your life interesting and unpredictable.”

“For this video, we really wanted to show how positive and fun just hanging out with friends can be,” bassist/producer John Renaud adds, “With the help of Punk Black founder, Von Phoenix, we reached out to Atlanta’s POC cosplay community and got everyone together at an art space that had a small indoor rollerskating rink. Many of these cosplayer knew each other from social media only and had never met in person, so there was just this exciting, positive energy in the room all night. And that is what was captured in the video – innocent fun and open expression of self within a supportive community. We’ve been replicating that vibe at our live shows and hope to really spread it around wherever we play.”

Follow Lesibu Grand @lesibugrand for more.