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Standout Track: No. 9, “I’m So,” a refreshingly ambitious indie rock song that builds to a knockout climax. Guitarist and drummer Joe Bentley begins the song with a Greg Dulli-like come-on of weariness: “Taming the squall in my mind/ Up to my neck in rough tide/ Nobody sells what I need/ Taking more time to refine.” The band’s gathering swell of melodic guitar lines and forceful drumming channels The Walkmen. Around four minutes in, “I’m So” falls into a blissful coda of unleashed beauty.
Musical Motivation: Exhaustion is part of what inspired Young Rapids to get together. Bentley and lead singer and keyboardist Dan Gleason held office jobs for several years before burning out. After quitting their gigs and taking time off from the D.C. area, the pair regrouped with lead guitarist Nick Martin to write songs and search for “something a little bit more meaningful than the quest for money,” says Bentley. Bassist and drummer Colin Kelly joined the group about a year later. Today, Young Rapids seems to have found a more fulfilling way of life. “I don’t make a lot of money, but I’m so much happier now that I’ve reorganized my priorities,” Bentley says.
In Silence: “It was probably—I dunno, this sounds stupid—but, like, the most magical coming-together of any of the songs on the album,” Gleason says. “We didn’t talk about anything, we didn’t talk about structuring it, it just sort of happened. It was so weird, because normally we have these intense conversations about ‘This should come after this,’ and ‘We should do a chord change here and build it up,’ and it just happened so naturally.”
Young Rapids plays The Dunes on Aug. 31.
