Loud, fast and intentionally over-the-top, “Danny ACOG” is Neutral Snap’s return to form — or maybe just a louder version of themselves.

The new single, released alongside a nostalgia-heavy music video, is the band’s first release in two years. Written with Tom Denney, known for his work with A Day to Remember, “Danny ACOG” is coated in heartbreak, but it’s not trying to make anyone cry.

“The idea started in Tom Denney’s studio,” frontman Josh Latham said. “The hook ‘she is the one to keep your heart on a string’ came to me when we were listening to the chorus, which sparked a lot of memories that led into writing the rest of it. I wanted to write a heartbreak song but not have it be so sad, you know?”

The track is a sugar rush with jagged edges — catchy hooks, shoutable lyrics and a melody built to bounce off barroom walls. That’s intentional, Latham said. This song, like the rest of their recent EP I Hardly Know Her, was designed with the live show in mind.

“You can’t have Neutral Snap without having chaos and fun. It’s just our nature,” Latham said. “For this EP, I wanted the songs to translate into a high-energy live show. We’ve always put on intense shows with a lot of energy, so we wanted this project to reflect that. We are also always kind of sad and angsty, so.”

The EP marks a shift for the band — not in sound, necessarily, but in collaboration. For the first time, they brought in outside writers and producers, including Denney and Fred Mascherino (Taking Back Sunday, Say Anything, The Color Fred). The result is tighter, heavier and more focused, but still unmistakably them.

“Tom was so cool to work with, man. He was so receptive to everything we had to say creatively, and he also helped us really flesh out the song and make it sound huge,” Latham said. “After working with him on two songs — there’s another one on the EP — we left his studio gassed up to make more. He really started the spark that was this EP.”

That energy bleeds into the music video, a fast-cut montage of moments filmed inside Fred’s, a beloved local bar that has hosted the band since its early days.

“The video for DACOG — I’m gonna start calling it this now — is a montage of some of our best moments from Fred’s, the greatest bar in the world,” Latham said. “Because this was our first song out in two years, we wanted to pay homage to the place that gave us our first real shot and has helped us so much on our musical journey. Neutral Snap wouldn’t be what it is without Fred’s, and we used the video as a testament to that.”

For a band that has carved out its identity in pop punk, it’s notable that they come from New Orleans — a city known more for brass than breakdowns. The band’s response? Embrace the variety.

“Mixed bills, baby,” Latham said. “New Orleans is a cluster of amazing talent across all sorts of genres. So while there isn’t much of a dedicated pop-punk scene, we’ve put on shows with bands from all sorts of backgrounds. We also understood that most of our success will be found out of state, so we’ve put a lot of resources toward touring and making it out to other places.”

That self-awareness is part of what sets Neutral Snap apart. They know what they sound like — a 2005 Gusher’s commercial, by one description — and they lean into it. Loud. Colorful. Maybe a little much. But never dull.

“That’s all natural,” Latham said. “We’ve always been kind of annoying, and we put 100% of ourselves on that stage. I would hate to do anything less.”

The EP’s name, I Hardly Know Her, carries the band’s tongue-in-cheek energy, but the songwriting process was anything but careless. For Latham, working with established names in the genre pushed the group to take more creative risks.

“To start, we got to work with so many people who we’ve looked up to in the scene. Having them in our corner, kinda coaching us, improved our sound and took these songs to the next level,” he said. “Honestly, writing with other people allowed us to push a lot of creative boundaries too. I remember walking into Fred Mascherino’s studio and telling him, ‘We wanna write something weird today,’ and that’s how we came up with one of our favorite songs on the record.”

That blend of raw energy and purposeful evolution is part of what makes Neutral Snap feel relevant, even as pop punk surges back into the cultural mainstream. Latham said they’re not trying to dominate the wave. They just want to ride it with everyone else — loudly.

“I’m a big fan of the phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ so while I’d love to see myself as a leader in this scene one day, I’m primarily making sure that I get to play and uplift the pop-punk community as a whole,” he said. “There’s so much cool talent and so many stages to be a part of. We are just happy to be here, man.

“But make no mistake, we are the best to ever do it.”

That last part is half-joke, half-dare. Neutral Snap doesn’t traffic in irony. They know they’re loud. They know they’re brash. They’re in on the bit — but they’re also all in.

Live shows are where that conviction comes to life.

“We are the curators of the vibe,” Latham said. “High energy, in your face and so much fun.”

Streaming numbers back them up. With nearly five million plays under their belt, Neutral Snap has already built a loyal audience. Still, the milestones haven’t lost their shine.

“Our first million streams was something that I really didn’t think would happen,” Latham said. “I’ve been so lucky to be able to do this as my job with my best friends, all of which has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I’m very grateful for every milestone we get to pass, and I really hope that this EP takes us to where we need to go.”

That destination is still in motion. But wherever they land next, they’ll probably show up yelling — in matching outfits, with glitter in their hair and riffs flying like shrapnel. It’s not subtle. But it’s sincere.