It is not hard to imagine, and not without reason to assume, that for a very large portion of the late teens-through mid-twenties population there is ever increasing anxiety about the mythical “growing up”—forever and pre-maturely alluded to throughout ones youth. There is widespread disillusionment about expectations of success both financially and emotionally that were borne out of the pseudo-existence of the (entitled and privileged) American dream, and subsequently filtered through the malaise of the post-Boomer generation. A subset of this anxious unease is condensed and refracted on “The Only Good Condo is a Dead Condo”, the first song off of the upcoming album from Vancouver, BC’s NEEDS. A frenetic four minutes, NEEDS cycle from post punk, to garage rock, to math rock elements and back, seamlessly blending and never settling into one particular mode of existence. While there are moments that reflect DC-hardcore, and there are moments that seem like (recently disbanded; RIP) Glocca Morra; “Dead Condo” is not easy to mistake for another band’s work.
NEEDS’ musical brand of hard-soul is perfect accompaniment for singer Sean Orr’s discontent; there are anxious builds and drowned furies and unhinged eruptions—all of which contextualize the path Orr is taking. The opening line of the song, “It costs so much, just to live in this town,” is slurringly laid out with a backdrop of feedback that leads to the realization: “And from where I’m from, it’s like they don’t want me around.” “Dead Condo” is reminiscent of another group of punks’ discontent with finding decent living space, and follows in a tradition of making really loud music that gets its point across without wavering. This is something to celebrate, and is vital to keeping rock and its many offshoots alive; NEEDS have done their part.
You can stream “The Only Good Condo is a Dead Condo” below. NEEDS will be releasing their eponymous first LP on May 12 via File Under: Music.
NEEDS upcoming SxSW shows
March
19 at Bar 2211 (2211 Webberville Rd.)
19 at Spider House Ballroom (2906 Fruth St.)
20 at Maggie Mae’s (323 E 6th St.)
21 at New Orleans PoBoys (1806 E 12th St.)
