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Standout Track: Pure, unadulterated rock ’n’ roll. That’s what listeners can expect from “Denim VS Leather,” the first single from Tuff Junior’s debut EP Denim Feather. There’s a tight groove of a main riff and sweet guitar licks between chorus and verse that culminate in a ripping solo. There are earworm lyrics. There’s fucking cowbell. And to top it all off, the song is about how good you look when wearing leather or denim. What’s more rock ’n’ roll that that? Nothing.

Musical Motivation: It might not seem like it at first glance, but “Denim VS Leather” is kind of a two-part love story. “I love wearing denim, and I wear the Canadian Tuxedo quite often,” says guitarist and vocalist Cory Springirth. For him, the song is an attempt to recreate the effortless cool that comes with wearing or seeing someone wearing a really awesome looking pair of jeans or jacket. “When I met my wife,” he says, “she had this one picture on her Instagram of her in a leather jacket, and I just thought she looked really good in it.”

Something Catchy, Something New: Of course, Springirth is quick to point out that not all of his songs are about denim. In fact, a lot of what makes Tuff Junior different from his previous project, Old Indian, is the fact that he’s become more focused on his lyrics. “If you listen to any Old Indian songs,” he says, “…there’s not a lot of vocals at all, and that’s because Old Indian wasn’t about that. Trying to write with Derek [Salazar] now, we’re still writing rock ’n’ roll songs, but with a catchy, pop thing.”


Tuff Junior performs Sat., May 20 at The Thing Festival in Frederick, Md. 5 p.m., $5.