A new single from Blonds gives off a bright and vibrant pop vibe with layers of wonderfully built textures and a freeing undertone that feels driven by indie-pop and contemporary rock.
"Yesterday" has a great and endlessly fun drive to it that is quick to grab you up and keep you attention.
reminds me of early Nada Surf style songs with acoustic guitar as the main focus and really fun keys and electric guitar sections that give it fresh hooks and an approach that makes you want to get up and dance.
And that's the thing. It's incredibly danceable and just makes you think of a summer pool party.
There is also this sort of undertone of retro-pop in there that comes from the instrument hooks that also feels nice and nostalgic and fun.
Seriously, you will shake your ass in your seat when this song comes on and you will likely find yourself singing along by the end.
This was a bit of a soiree of colors and soundscapes that all come together for a damn good time, and it works like a charm.
Vocals are perfect for the liveliness of the track and it all just has a great ring to it.
With the release of such a sweet single, we wanted to have a chat with Blonds to find out where this came from and maybe even what's next.
Here's what happened.
RAG: Okay so let's start with "Yesterday". The track had a great contemporary rock undertone with hints of southern styles in there! Where did this song come from?
- Oddly enough, this song came to me in a dream. In the dream, I was sitting in the open trunk of my old car from high school, facing a beautiful sunset at a beach near where I went to university, and I was strumming an acoustic guitar while singing the song. In the dream I called the song "Coca-Cola Classic," I think as a metaphor for commodified nostalgia, but when I woke up and recorded the song I changed the title to "Yesterday" to match the line in the chorus.
RAG: I'm hearing some great styles on this release. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
- Thank you! In general, my biggest influences are The Beatles, Nirvana, Mura Masa, Kaytranada, Frank Ocean, and a slew of indie bands like The Wombats or Two Door Cinema Club. I think The Beatles influence shines through most in this song, as well as perhaps some influence from The Cure, but it's anyone's guess really.
RAG: So how did this all begin for you really? When did you fall in love with music?
- I started playing guitar when I was 8 years old because I wanted to be like Kurt Cobain, as I was (and still am) a massive fan of Nirvana. Over time guitar playing naturally turned into songwriting as I learned other instruments and developed a love for all types of music.
RAG: What's next for you as an artist?
- Well, after Yesterday there will be an EP titled Retrospective which will be released on July 1st, with Yesterday as one of the tracks. Beyond that my plan is to continue to keep making art of any kind so long as I keep getting ideas.
RAG: What inspires you to write a song?
- I wish I knew. I'm very fortunate to have received the idea for Yesterday, and to have received any other song ideas I've had. In this case, it came in a dream, but I've had ideas show up while driving, at the gym, while walking my dog, or during any number of arbitrary circumstances.
RAG: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
- I studied oil painting at the University of California Santa Barbara and have loved painting since before I could make music. Lately I've been lucky enough to have some really exciting painting ideas, and it feels like I'm really on the verge of a big step in my painting career, but I'm sure every artist feels that way.
RAG: Who are you listening to right now?
- Because I've been working on the music video for Yesterday, in which I dress up and act as each member of The Beatles, I've been listening to a lot of their music to get the vibe right for the video. There's also an excellent new Australian indie/electronic artist LORA who I've been listening to a lot lately. I highly recommend her song Bittersweet.
RAG: Are you doing live performances?
- Not currently. Not to take myself too seriously, but I recently decided that I will only play live again when I have a really great idea for a live performance. It was feeling like I was just some band up there, indecipherable from any other, as I wasn't doing anything particularly interesting on stage other than simply performing my songs and a few covers. Until I have a great live performance idea, my time is better spent making new music and painting.
RAG: This single is part of an upcoming album right?
- Yes, it's titled Retrospective and it comes out July 1st. The original plan was to have only 3 songs on it, but at this point it's almost definitely going to be more. Too many ideas lately.
RAG: This single seems like a big undertaking. What kind of advice might you have for other up and coming artists out there?
- As someone who's been "up and coming" for quite some time I'm not sure I'm especially qualified to be dealing out advice, but that being said it's always a good thing, in any art form, to stay true to the ideas as they come to you and to be persistent in your art making. I've found that when you're true to your original idea and don't try to force it into some preconceived idea of "appealing" the art winds up being better, more original, and ironically more appealing every time.
RAG: Before we go, what would you all like to say to fans of the music?
- Whoever you are, thank you. I promise to keep it up.