The Neighbourhood, best known for their hit song “Sweater Weather,” released their new album (((((ultraSOUND))))) on Nov. 14, 2025. The album contains 15 songs and runs for 57 minutes and 4 seconds.
Just a few weeks before the whole album came out, the band released three songs, “OMG,” “Lovebomb” and “Private,” giving a sneak peek into the rest of the album.
The Neighbourhood is an alternative rock band founded in 2011 in Newbury Park, California. It consists of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott and drummer Brandon Fried.
With their comeback, they have also celebrated their album “Wiped Out!!”’s 10-year anniversary, re-releasing it with 11 new tracks for listeners.
After releasing a few songs in 2012, the band then released their album “I Love You,” which contained their song “Sweater Weather” that lead them to blow up as a band. They began making top charts and selling over 2 million copies of the album. Before the band went on a break, the last album they released was “Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones” in September of 2020.
November of 2021 was when the band announced they would be taking a break shortly after Fried was accused of sexually assaulting frontwoman María Zardoya of the Marías.
When the band announced they were coming back together in August of 2025, they posted on their Instagram stories, “As we entered our early 30s, we were faced with life outside of the band for the first time in our adult lives. Breakups, family struggles and personal challenges.”
They also announced in the post that all five members had reunited in November of 2024, ready to create music again.
While many fans are happy the band is back together and shows have been selling out since they announced their World Tour for 2026, other reviews suggest that not everyone is happy about their comeback.
Some reviews online talk about how the album is the same as their past albums and remains unoriginal; other reviews are concerned about the band letting Fried join back.
“With a gem here and there, (((((ultraSOUND))))) is ultimately an album for the comfort of longtime fans or people who enjoy listening to music that feels like smoking a cigarette while reminiscing on a foggy summer night,” said Emma Yu in an article from The Heights.
With their “Wiped Out!” anniversary and new songs added to the track of past demos never released before, fans loved it. A lot of fans ended up liking these songs more than the ones from their new album, saying the new music isn’t as good as their past music. A main part of it for fans is the feeling of nostalgia.
With the musicians experimenting with new writing, new sounds and switching up instruments, the new album remains different from past albums. Members of the band may be new versions of themselves, but they are the same band.
Regarding Fried’s allegations with Zardoya, Margott said, “From our perspective, we’ve seen genuine growth and change in the last few years with Brandon [Fried] and bringing him back wasn’t a snap decision. We definitely knew the type of reaction we were going to receive. Although that doesn’t excuse anything, we still believe that he deserves a second chance and opportunity that he’s better.”
With the image of the band ruined for a lot of fans because of Fried’s allegations, the band acknowledges their understanding of people’s opinions on the matter, but they plan to continue making music together as a group of friends, learning from their past experiences.
Since coming back together, the band has had a quiet presence. With minimal posting on social media and only having done one interview so far, many fans believe this is because of their complications with Fried and the controversy over Rutherford’s past relationship — which had a 10-year age gap — with Billie Eilish.
The album overall marks a new era for The Neighbourhood. The members use their past experiences and the life they experienced during their break to create new music. They did a great job at keeping the sound of their band together, while also creating new sounds and a new feeling with their new album.
Since releasing their new album, they have become no. 57 in the world on Spotify, with their number of followers going up to 21 million.
While none of their new songs have reached any charts, releasing new music has caused fans to relisten to their old music, making it once again relevant on social media. Fans have been replaying their classic songs such as “Daddy Issues” and “Softcore.” “Sweater Weather” is no. 28 on Billboard Global 200 for the week of Nov. 22, having stayed on this list for over 250 weeks.
Shelby Sandford can be reached at [email protected]