Sharpie Smile, the unconventional songwriting duo of Dylan Hadley and Cole Berliner, descend from the altostratus this summer with their debut album, The Staircase. Ahead of a nationwide tour kicking off this June, the former Kamikaze Palm Tree tricksters are dropping a new single/video today for the title track and closing song, “The Staircase.” 

Dylan and Cole dance into an ethereal fever dream on “The Staircase”: waves of abandonment and isolation swirling about in impressionist images and mist-light pop. “Tangled up / with incessant feeling,” Sharpie Smile wear their heart on the outside, as big thoughts crowd their insides. Reflecting, Dylan and Cole share: “‘The Staircase’ is about trying to reconnect with a fractured self — losing sight of oneself while maintaining relationships that aren’t working anymore, and the process of rediscovery after the fact.” The music video, by Dante Capone, switches up between a lush forest setting and a lavish palace interior.

On The Staircase, Sharpie Smile ascend through waves of sound art in a sophisticated musical craft all their own. Their collaborators help facilitate and guide their astonishing transformations: The Staircase was engineered and produced by Cesar Maria, with additional engineering by Spencer Hartling, additional vocal engineering and production by Cairo Marques-Neto and mixing by Mikey Weiland. The end result: a dreamy, ethereal vision-quest through serpentine soul-terrain. 

Start climbing up The Staircase — it’s out June 27! Shortly after, Sharpie Smile will kick off their tour with a record release show June 30 at LA’s Zebulon.

Sharpie Smile 2025 Tour Dates

June 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon (Album Release Show)
July 17 - Phoenix, Arizona @ Valley Bar
July 19 - Albuquerque, NM @ Black Wall Gallery
July 20 - Marfa, TX @ Planet Marfa
July 22 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio
July 24 - Kansas City, KS @ recordBar
July 25 - St. Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole
July 26 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
July 27 - Raleigh, NC @ Neptunes
July 28 - Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd Music House
July 31 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Aug. 1 - Boston, MA @ The Rockwell
Aug. 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Littlefield
Aug. 3 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Aug. 5 - Chicago, IL @ Hideout
Aug. 6 - Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s Live Music
Aug. 7 - Omaha, NE @ Joslyn Castle Carriage House
Aug. 8 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
Aug. 9 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The DLC at Quarters
Aug. 10 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Aug. 11 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
Aug. 12 - Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Green Auto
Aug. 13 - Portland, OR @ Holocene
Aug. 16 - San Francisco, CA @ 4 Star Theater
Aug. 18 - Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
Aug. 21 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Aug. 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom