Standout Track: “Much,” the first single from Typefighter’s forthcoming debut LP, The End of Everything. The track blasts open with a surge of power pop, pulls back with several slow-burning verses, then explodes all over again. “Heyyyyoh!,” wails guitarist and vocalist Ryan McLaughlin, 28, who seems to understand the simple but killer formula of a great anthem.

Musical Motivation: This one is about defiance in spite of hardships—in other words, the stuff of Springsteen in the second half of the ’70s. “I’ve had to say goodbye to more things than I would have liked over the last year or two, and this [track] is an homage to that,” writes McLaughlin in an email. “It’s my letter to the universe saying ‘No, it’s not over yet, God damn it! I’m not done.’”

Surprise Party: “Much” almost didn’t make it onto Typefighter’s album; it didn’t exist until very late in the recording process. While diligently tracking its full-length one night, the band decided to take a break and plug in. To their surprise, they ended up throwing together “Much” in about an hour. Immediately they realized it needed to go on the album. “We threw up some [microphones] and went for it,” writes McLaughlin, who lives in the H Street NE neighborhood. “What you hear is the live energy of that moment. No click track, very few overdubs, and the elation of accidental accomplishment.”

Typefighter plays a single release party tonight at DC9. Listen to “Much” below.