The Great American Novel has released a new song "This Song Will Make You Love Me" and it's awesome.
This band just keeps making music that I instantly and completely love. Their latest song starts a little bit like "Just What I Needed" on speed with a few measures of two chords and awesome drum fills before Layne comes in with "This heart of mine, it beats out of time, it goes…" followed by a chorus of "ba-ba's" from the rest of the guys in the band. It's hard to not want to listen to these first twenty seconds over and over. Such a killer opening. I dig the segue of the words from singer to the band, but even more, I think the delivery is perfect. So catchy and impassioned.
I really liked the last album Kissing a lot (here's a post I did about it and the band), and much of what made that a great record is present here. The combination of genuine talent with kineticism and humor is to me what makes The Great American Novel so compelling (and you can hear all of this in the thirty seconds of the bridge into the instrumental break that mirrors the opening, only with the keyboard doing the fills this time around). The band is tight, the energy is off the charts, the words are clever, the hooks are huge, and the subject matter on relationships hits with that beautiful mixture of self-deprecation, sincerity, and, if not assuredness, at least jubilance. I believe the band sounds more confident, most overtly via Layne. He's looking doubt and uncertainty in the face and putting it all out there anyways. You can hear it. His writing is sharp as ever (I like "No one is normal, just different kinds of weird. If we could get our weirds together, we could get right out of here," quite a bit) and his sense of melody continues to impress me.
The rest of the band is on point, too. I already mentioned how much I loved the drums right from the start, and Aiden keeps the propulsion going. I dig the way Peter's bass alternates between the straightforward staccato chug of the verse rhythm and more dexterous figures. I'm not always a big keyboard person, but Devin does his usual excellent job (even if he is the one who seems to have his hands glued to his feet) and I enjoy the little flourishes throughout. The guitar doesn't really call much attention to itself, though if you listen closely, JR's crunch serves to anchor everything else and he adds some nice layers during the second verse and on the second, funkier chorus.
The guys are working on their next album, and I'm looking forward to it. They will be playing in the next Mama Coco's showcase at The Lab on February 16th, along with friend of the Dig David Pollack and four other bands. You can get details here. Mama Coco's Funky Kitchen, if you didn't know, is where The Great American Novel records and it's the home of many great acts. Check out their website to learn more. It is an exciting community of artists, that's for sure.