Astral Bakers Explore Quiet Tensions in A Dog in a Manger

Astral Bakers are the kind of band you feel didn’t set out to find each other—but did anyway. Four musicians, each with their own path, came together in a room and began to play. Not as a project, but as something instinctive. Some call it acoustic rock, others hear soft grunge. In warm, wooden rooms, they composed their first songs, repeating them over and over. Playing together to capture life as it passes—fallible and real. And in doing so, they remind us of the obvious, which we often forget: music is an art of presence.

Their new single “A Dog in a Manger,” out now, is the first glimpse into their upcoming second album, recorded in the United States with producer Sam Evian. For the first time, drummer Zoé steps up to take the lead vocals—a shift that doesn’t feel strategic, but rather natural, as if the song itself asked for her voice. The visual counterpart to the single was crafted by Juliette Gelli and Julia Tarissan, who translated the song’s shifting tones into a bold and unconventional music video.

“The expression ‘a dog in a manger’ comes from a fable in which a dog jealously guards the hay in the stable, preventing other animals from eating it even though he has no use for it himself. It’s a way of illustrating how jealousy and stubbornness can make for a toxic mix. And yet, this is a radiant track, carried by a narrator who observes her character with distance and kindness, offering a barely veiled critique of the excesses of our society.” they tell.

And the song is everything at once—playful yet raw, fresh and nostalgic. A beautiful indie track, light-footed like a butterfly dancing across a flower. A reflection, perhaps. And maybe that’s what defines Astral Bakers: they leave space—for contradictions, for fragments, for what isn’t said.