Brooklyn-based indie outfit Endearments — Kevin Marksson (vocals, bass), Anjali Nair (guitar) and Will Haywood Smith (drums) — closed out last year by signing with Trash Casual, who then released the cinematic, “Cannon,” a track that nods at Simple Minds and Tears for Fears, as well as contemporaries like Nation of Language.
The trio’s Abe Seiferth–produced, full-length debut An Always Open Door is slated for a March 6, 2026 release. The nine-song album will feature the band’s unique emotionally dense and lush synth-based take on indie rock. An Always Open Door‘s first official single, the nostalgia-inducing, New Order-like “Real Deal” showcases the band’s ability to pair earnest, lived-in lyrics with rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. Thematically, “Real Deal” explores the dynamics of a slowly decaying relationship that culminates with the sudden and heartbreaking realization of being just an accessory to someone else’s desires.
Directed by Paul Desilva, the accompanying video follows a story of a drunken hookup and the self-conscious revelations that occur in its aftermath.
“‘Real Deal’ is a song about feeling like you’re just a supporting player in someone else’s romantic idealization,” Endearments’ Kevin Marksson explains. “I hint at Apollo and Daphne in the lyrics and the idea that someone can be so focused on what love ‘should’ feel like that they forget there is a real person on the other end. The music video plays with that concept in a fun way by having our heroine wake up in a strange apartment after what seemed like a perfect evening, but maybe wasn’t as perfect as she thought.”