REVERSE YR CURSE are making an artful, nuanced sort of indie rock music in Richmond, Virginia; culled from decades worth of equally oversized record collections and neuroses. Lyrics point to struggle on both the micro and macro levels, within and without. There’s an air of rooting for the downtrodden, always longing for relief. There’s a reckoning with the past, and a seeking of peace with the present. Keenly aware of mortality, there’s an alliance with the self, and a complicated desire to live fully. With openness to both experimentation and traditional songwriting, their music exists on a plane where serendipity fits tightly with forced intention.
The band’s debut album, Where Are We Going and When Will We Get There, is set to arrive on September 19, and the band drops off an imaginative carnival ride of a single before they unleash the whole LP. “Shoes Today” features a slow-burning chug that leaves the perfect amount of space for the atmospheric vocals to deliver their raw empathy, creating an immersive preview of the anticipated album. The psychedelic undertones of the droning vocal performance add a subtle sense of experimentation to the minimalist instrumentation, and even though “Shoe Today” airs on the side of sonic simplicity, REVERSE YR CURSE uses the canvas to highlight their intricate songwriting. The band rejuvenates the concept of empathetic songwriting with a bluntness that is hidden underneath distant vocal tones, as if a caring apparition is delivering the lyrics. With a new album only a few days away, REVERSE YR CURSE unleashes a nuanced single that hints at an expansive and attention-demanding debut LP from the young band.
“’Shoes Today’ was made from a fun improv session we had. We often start rehearsals with jams, and sometimes they’re good enough to turn into real songs. In this case, Bonnie took it upon herself to write lyrics and come up with a melody. The lyrics are quite literally about walking in someone else’s old shoes and seeing how they feel,” explains the band’s Matthew Park. “The video was made in a somewhat similar improvised fashion. My old friend Alex Germanotta was visiting Richmond from Los Angeles for one night. He came up with the whole concept for the video, bought a Ring Camera to use, and brought his fancy DSLR. We shot late into the night, using friends’ porches and our own. The whole thing was shot in one night, and then edited a few days later when he was back in LA. We think it’s a really fun and funny video, and Alex likes to think that it’s the first video that utilizes a Ring Camera strictly in night vision mode.”
