My Heart Beats

Ryan McGinley

I think I've made it known that, generally speaking, I am not a fan of all-girl bands. Obviously there are notable exceptions, but the whole man hating thing gets old, fast. Feminism in music is fine, but bitterness doesn't look good on anyone. But guess what? Despite what the name may suggest (or at least, what I assumed upon seeing it), Veronica Falls are NOT a girl band. Yes they have a female lead vocalist, but they also have a male lead vocalist. If this isn't true equality--the apex of feminism--I don't know what is. And the best part is, they're pretty great

Though I discovered them rather late in the game (their self-titled debut album came out towards the end of last year), they hit my stereo just in time to serve as perfect, upbeat, sunny day rock. Veronica Falls are from England, which shouldn't come as any surprise, as they inhabit that never-gets-old poppy yet stomping indie rock niche their country's musicians perfected. Take My Heart Beats as a prime example. It could very well be a Belle & Sebastian song, but a glossy new proverbial coat of paint packages it for the younger set, and it passes as something fresh. While Veronica Falls owe a nod to the past, their future's looking bright.

My Heart Beats - Veronica Falls

Let's Go Surfing

Photo Credit Clark Little

I know summer is starting to come to a close, so I’m a little late on the uptake here, but I’ve got your perfect summer jam. It’s called Let’s Go Surfing (doesn’t that title just scream “SUMMER!”), and it’s by New York-based The Drums. It’s sunny twee-pop reminiscent of the Beach Boys circa 1965, when all that seemed to matter was the sun, the waves, and beautiful girls. There’s even whistling on the track. I don’t think I have ever disliked a song that has whistling in it.

Funny enough, this song actually has some political undertones. In the chorus, when Jonathan Pierce sings what sounds to be “Oh mama, I wanna go surfing,” he’s actually saying “Obama.” This song was written right after the 2008 presidential election, when all of us liberals were giddy at the idea of change and new beginnings. As The Drums stated in an interview with NME,

“Obama came through and it was just impossible not to kind of get swept up with the whole nation…so that’s when we wrote Let’s Go Surfing. It just felt like things might change; nothing really changed…but you know everything was really sensationalized and romanticized…so Let’s Go Surfing is really about [that] sort of unbridled freedom.”
Regardless of what your views are on the current political state of affairs, hope and a sense of unbridled freedom are unmistakable on the track, and that raw naiveté and youthful optimism are what sets it apart.

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Let’s Go Surfing—The Drums