There\u2019s a Philly duo out here making psych-rock that hits like a cold beer on a Tuesday afternoon when you should probably be doing something else \u2014 and honestly? We\u2019re here for every second of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kewl Haze (yes, the band, not the weed strain \u2014 though we understand the confusion) just dropped their new single Double Black Diamond<\/em> via PaperCup Music, and it\u2019s the kind of track that makes you stare at the ceiling and question your life choices in the best possible way. Think Tame Impala meets Beck at a Flaming Lips show, with MGMT playing in the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The duo \u2014 Dan Scott Forreal and Derek Sheehan \u2014 are both multi-instrumentalists, producers, songwriters, and mix engineers. Basically, they\u2019re the kind of people who would be insufferable if the music wasn\u2019t so damn good. Lucky for us, it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Double Black Diamond<\/em> is a wild, sprawling ride \u2014 beatnik percussion, rise-and-fall dynamics, squiggly guitars, angelic harmonies, outer-space synths, and a bass line in the chorus that channels a seriously tripped-out James Jamerson. The Beatles-esque chorus sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you\u2019re deep in electro dance-rock territory with no desire to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyrically, the song lives at that uncomfortable crossroads we all know a little too well \u2014 when one part of your life starts pulling against another. For Forreal and Sheehan, it was the tension between going all-in on the album (creatively, spiritually, chemically) while the real world kept sending invoices. Jobs. Relationships. Family side-eyes. The whole deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLive it up today, tomorrow I\u2019ll figure out the rest<\/em>\u201d \u2014 that line isn\u2019t just a lyric. It\u2019s basically a manifesto for anyone who\u2019s ever chosen the song over the sensible thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The single is a preview of their debut full-length, \u2018Suburban Sherpa\u2019 \u2014 an 11-track journey four years in the making. Four. Years. Of home studios, professional studios, hectic life moments, and apparently a lot of beer-fueled honesty sessions before hitting record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe would have a couple of beers before studio sessions, talk about life, and that led to an openness in the studio,<\/em>\u201d Forreal says. Sheehan adds: \u201cA lot of life happened in the span of making the record, some hectic and difficult situations, but we laughed our asses off.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That combo \u2014 raw vulnerability wrapped in a sense of humor \u2014 is exactly what makes \u2018Suburban Sherpa\u2019 feel like something real. These aren\u2019t guys performing cool. They\u2019re guys who went through it and came out the other side with 11 songs and a story worth telling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stream Double Black Diamond<\/em> now on Spotify and get ready. \u2018Suburban Sherpa\u2019 is coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n