September 16, 2026

Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie’s Hipster Slaves announce new single ‘Fine Young Hands’

Hipster Slaves, the duo of Chris Pennie and Ron Scalzo, release synthpop single “Fine Young Hands” on 25 September via Bald Freak Music.

Hipster Slaves press image for "Fine Young Hands"
🇺🇦 Side-Line stands with Ukraine - Show your Support

Dillinger Escape Plan co-founder and drummer Chris Pennie’s electronic duo Hipster Slaves releases the new single “Fine Young Hands” on 25 September 2026 through Bald Freak Music. The track pairs electronic rhythms with a synthpop hook built around themes of nostalgia and longing, and arrives with an animated video the duo produced themselves.

Hipster Slaves release ‘Fine Young Hands’ on Bald Freak Music

Hipster Slaves pairs Pennie, also known for his work with Coheed and Cambria, with singer, synth and piano player Ron Scalzo, the founder of Bald Freak Music. Scalzo sings and plays synths from Nashville while Pennie handles drums, synths and guitars from New York City. “Fine Young Hands” follows the project’s self-titled 2019 debut EP, and Bald Freak Music has a full-length Hipster Slaves album planned for 2027.

The single is available to pre-save ahead of release through a DistroKid hyperfollow page, which links to a Spotify pre-save and to the duo’s Bandcamp page. The official video for “Fine Young Hands” is out now on YouTube.

About Hipster Slaves

Hipster Slaves is the electronic duo of Ron Scalzo and Chris Pennie. Scalzo founded Bald Freak Music, an independent record label and production house, in 2005, releasing his own work in the electronic project Q*Ball alongside guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, as well as albums from Bumblefoot, Black Pig and Swashbuckle. In 2006, Scalzo joined guitarist Brett Aveni and Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie to form the alternative rock band Return To Earth, whose debut album, “Captains of Industry,” followed that year. Return To Earth signed to Metal Blade Records and released its second album, “Automata,” in 2010, reunited in 2020, and released “Oblivion” through Bald Freak Music in 2022, followed by the four-song release “Octavius” in 2024.

Pennie co-founded the mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan with guitarist Ben Weinman in 1997 and remained its drummer through the band’s early catalog before later serving as the drummer for Coheed and Cambria between 2007 and 2011. He also contributed drums to releases by Idiot Pilot, The Armed and Greg Puciato.

Hipster Slaves released its self-titled three-track debut EP, featuring the songs “Pitchforks,” “Hipster Slaves” and “Near Dark,” on Bandcamp on 11 November 2019. Scalzo also hosts the Independent Minded podcast and The Joy of Bob Ross podcast, both produced through Bald Freak Music. “Fine Young Hands,” out 25 September 2026, is the first new Hipster Slaves single since that debut and precedes a full-length album the duo has planned for 2027.

Support Side-Line

More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.

Select a Donation Option (USD)

Enter Donation Amount (USD)
Why we ask

Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.

Handled by PayPal.