Track Premiere: Doe – “My Friends”
Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
Photo by: Andrew Northrop
There’s no shortage of muscly power-pop bands on either side of the pond right now. North America’s got Charly Bliss, Rozwell Kid, Speedy Ortiz, Partner, Dude York, among countless others. And the UK’s sporting Martha, Colour Me Wednesday, Happy Accidents, and Muncie Girls, to name just a few. Not to mention the load of pop-minded riff-rock coming out of Australia and New Zealand right now. Therefore, one would think that we’re nearing the saturation point of—to use a lazy non-descriptor in order to show how the overload of these types of bands has left critics sputtering—”90’s-indebted” pop-rock.
One would be wrong. Doe, a UK power trio who’ve been putting out charmingly toothy indie-pop for half-a-decade, are set to release their second full-length tomorrow (9/28), and it’s living proof that the well of sugary hooks and crunchy chords hasn’t run dry. “My Friends,” which we’re premiering below, is the record’s opening track and third single. Breeders and Pixies comparisons are imminent, but there’s a generation gap inherent to Doe’s music that distinguishes it from their obvious for-bearers.
There’s an underlying smarm in the way they deliver the chorus, a sense of shameless joy that can only come from kids who were first initiated with punks trying pop via “My Own Worst Enemy” and “Teenage Dirtbag”—not the cool kid pop-rock that earned Pitchfork approval during its blog years. That’s not to say Doe aren’t serious. Each one of them can play, and they’re definitely making music with more substance than a 2000’s one-hit-wonder like Wheatus or Lit.
But Doe’s music, although often moody and jagged, has a blissfulness to it that sets it apart from both its peers and its ancestors. Stream “My Friends” below, I think you’ll see what I mean:
Grow into It is out tomorrow 9/28 via Topshelf Records and Big Scary Monsters.
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Eli Enis | @eli_enis
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