Oklahoma outfit Mingo Drive is kicking off a new chapter this summer with the release of their first single "Color Blind Stories," which arrived last week and this week is accompanied by a corresponding video.

The band, previously known as Jasper Wilderness, is leaning into a pop-rock sound as they open a new era following a lineup change, which led to the remaining band members discussing the way forward, including a name change inspired by the fact that each of the four members—Samuel Bowling, Jacob Brallier, Jeremy Pelotte and Justin Scott—once lived off of Tulsa's Mingo Road.

Ahead of the song's release, Bowling, Pelotte and Scott sat down to chat with Variance about the band's new music and future.

"We kind of didn't like our last band name all that much," says Pelotte with a chuckle. "Like, the band kind of got built in layers and so the name was picked before the band. And so we just all really wanted a name that we all loved, like no questions asked, you know?"

Adds Bowling: "And we were really excited to pick a new name. But we were also having these conversations about, 'Can we continue on? Do we still want to do this?' And we all agreed, a hundred percent, we do."

This time around, the focus has been on creating the music first, and building a band around a sound they all love.

"We're just making the exact kind of music we want to make," says Scott, the lead singer and keyboard player. "I think we feel like we know more of the kind of music we like, and with this first song, I think it's a great example of that."

Bowling agrees, explaining how the song first emerged: "This one was more of, 'OK, we've been playing together for four months, and we think we sound like this the best together. Let's make a song from that.'"

This new music comes as the band is feeling the support of the local community, and they're in no rush to put out a full project just yet, instead focusing on individual singles and giving each song the proper attention it deserves, while eventually playing live again and perhaps hitting the road.

The newly released video also centers around the band's appreciation of Tulsa and their roots, with Bowling noting much of the video was shot around Tulsa and the surrounding area.

"We use one of The Church Studio spaces," explains Bowling. "They have their indoor studio space that they let us use, and we also filmed other parts of the video around other areas outside of Tulsa or nearby, like the biggest neon sign on Route 66. Just these images showing, yeah, we're a band from Tulsa. This is the city that we want on our sleeves."■