W: Peter James May I: Nicole Miller

"It’s so fun, light, cool, and a little weird. It’s a song for everyone." — Bryce Barsten

Seattle-based duo Chinese American Bear—the creative partnership of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten—have officially announced their new album, Dim Sum & Then Some, arriving May 8th via Moshi Moshi Records. To celebrate, the pair has dropped the lead single, “All The People (所有人),” a buoyant indie-pop anthem accompanied by a charmingly DIY stop-motion music video directed by Barsten himself.

The upcoming record marks a significant sonic evolution for the duo, presenting a vision that is both more musically dense and experimental than their previous work. While leaning into traditional pop elements, the album serves as a lighthearted collage of their shared life, weaving together themes of Chinese-American upbringing, food, and love with a newfound interest in the fantastical. Barsten describes the lead single as his favorite on the project, calling it "fun, light, cool, and a little weird"—a song intended for everyone that captures a sense of musical and lyrical fantasy.

Tong’s bilingual songwriting continues to serve as an emotional anchor, utilizing nostalgia and memory to navigate her identity. For this track, she moved away from her usual culinary inspirations to embrace a "Romantasy" aesthetic, influenced by Bryce’s ritualistic viewings of The Lord of the Rings and her own recent deep dive into novels like A Court of Thorns and Roses. This shift allowed the duo to explore a more whimsical, "castles and fairies" direction that they hadn't previously touched upon in their discography.

The music video for “All The People” highlights the duo’s commitment to a tactile, handmade aesthetic. Originally dreaming of giant costumes, Barsten pivoted to using puppets and frame-by-frame stop-motion animation, working out of his parents' basement to bring the vision to life. He describes the process as a rejection of modern AI shortcuts, preferring the "gremlin" energy of manual labor, hand-lit scenes, and the physical act of creation to give the characters their quirky, soulful personality.

Musically, Dim Sum & Then Some blends warbling guitars with psychedelic flourishes, disco strings, and hypnotic synth textures. It is a true reflection of the Chinese American Bear ethos: a sound born from the intersection of Barsten’s love for psych-rock staples like MGMT and The Flaming Lips, and Tong’s classical piano background and affinity for Top 40 pop. The result is a brand of indelible, groove-driven indie pop that remains open, curious, and perpetually light-hearted.

Chinese American Bear play The Great Escape, London Calling and Dot To Dot festivals this May.

LIVE DATES

14 May - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Festival
23 May - Bristol, UK - Dot 2 Dot Festival
24 May - Nottingham, UK - Dot 2 Dot Festival