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Free Download
Free download of "Better Off Alone" at Bandcamp. Pre-order of running jumping falling shouting including immediate download of 1 track in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or other formats. A link to the complete album will be emailed to you the moment it’s released on V-Day: 14 February 2012.
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the breakups* – running jumping falling shouting
LA-based quintet the breakups sound like California. Singer Jake Gideon cites Wilco, Nada Surf, the Shins, and the New Pornographers as influences, but he forgot to include the obligatory West Coast reference: The Beach Boys. Sure, there are shades of Pet Sounds in virtually every indie band that harmonizes and uses kitchen utensils to make noise; the breakups, however, manage to identify the subtle power of the album–an underlying sadness masked by sunny melodies.
Even the love songs are sad in a way. Perhaps this is indicative of the region; while California embodies the fresh-scrubbed hope of Hollywood starlets and Internet startup companies, it also represents the height of excess, materialism, and individualistic practices. Gone are the days of a “free love” ideology; instead, we’re left with sizable state debt, mass unemployment, and terrifyingly literal demonstrations of “shop[ping] til’ you drop”. The picturesque landscapes remain, but like a “Wish you were here” postcard, the sentiment leans towards wistful more than the brand of unadulterated bliss movies tend to peddle.
With such extreme models of happiness and sadness, it’s fitting the breakups have come out with an album that travels the gamut of California psyche, at least in a musical sense. It’s quite a feat, and not without missteps, but the right elements are there: happy-sad harmonies, laidback beachcomber grooves, and a sort of post-Cali punk/90s-era Nada Surfbrazenness (remember “Popular?” Yeah); throw in a handful of sweet vulnerabilityand voila! Organic, vitamin-rich indie rock smoothie!
On running jumping falling shouting, the band’s debut full-length album, Gideon easily plays the role of “thoughtful guy,” waxing poetic on all things life and love. His lyrics often suggest a self-imposed distance between himself and the apple of his eye, as on tracks like “Better Off Alone,” a cautionary tale for girls that habitually fall for bad men. He says “it’s time to sober up and understand your happiness may not lie in a man,” and we, the women, believe him, because it doesn’t translate as “but I’m different than the others” like so many of his love-drunk peers. That alone is incredibly refreshing. “Run from Rock ‘N’ Roll” contains the line “your world is so small, and you feel like you’ve heard it all before; the control takes its toll, but you never thought you’d run from rock ‘n’ roll,” which makes me wonder if Gideon is intimating his own experiences, specifically the breakup of his first band in 2007 that inspired the formation of the breakups. Only Gideon himself knows; the song is so catchy that we won’t spend too long wondering.
Running jumping falling shouting may very well be Gideon’s secret diary set to music, yet the themes are familiar—loneliness, relationships, and, well, breakups. It’s no surprise the breakups’ music has found a home on network television (“I Don’t Want to Know” was used for an episode of “Psych”), that sublime alternate universe where people feel more than they think. And while their name suggests otherwise, the breakups aren’t afraid of committing to their craft; in fact, they’ve boldly claimed to make “2012 the best last year of humanity ever” (via Tumblr). Will this include tour dates? Stay tuned.
The breakups are Jake Gideon (vocals/guitar), Phil Shrut (drums), James Williams (keys), Nik Ahlstam (guitar), and Tim Lee (bass/vocals). Running jumping falling shouting is scheduled for release on February 14th (get it? Valentine’s Day?) but you can pre-order the album via Bandcamp. For more information, visit the band’s official website or Facebook page.
*Lowercase is intentional
LA-based quintet the breakups sound like California. Singer Jake Gideon cites Wilco, Nada Surf, the Shins, and the New Pornographers as influences, but he forgot to include the obligatory West Coast reference: The Beach Boys. Sure, there are shades of Pet Sounds in virtually every indie band that harmonizes and uses kitchen utensils to make noise; the breakups, however, manage to identify the subtle power of the album–an underlying sadness masked by sunny melodies.
Even the love songs are sad in a way. Perhaps this is indicative of the region; while California embodies the fresh-scrubbed hope of Hollywood starlets and Internet startup companies, it also represents the height of excess, materialism, and individualistic practices. Gone are the days of a “free love” ideology; instead, we’re left with sizable state debt, mass unemployment, and terrifyingly literal demonstrations of “shop[ping] til’ you drop”. The picturesque landscapes remain, but like a “Wish you were here” postcard, the sentiment leans towards wistful more than the brand of unadulterated bliss movies tend to peddle.
With such extreme models of happiness and sadness, it’s fitting the breakups have come out with an album that travels the gamut of California psyche, at least in a musical sense. It’s quite a feat, and not without missteps, but the right elements are there: happy-sad harmonies, laidback beachcomber grooves, and a sort of post-Cali punk/90s-era Nada Surfbrazenness (remember “Popular?” Yeah); throw in a handful of sweet vulnerabilityand voila! Organic, vitamin-rich indie rock smoothie!
On running jumping falling shouting, the band’s debut full-length album, Gideon easily plays the role of “thoughtful guy,” waxing poetic on all things life and love. His lyrics often suggest a self-imposed distance between himself and the apple of his eye, as on tracks like “Better Off Alone,” a cautionary tale for girls that habitually fall for bad men. He says “it’s time to sober up and understand your happiness may not lie in a man,” and we, the women, believe him, because it doesn’t translate as “but I’m different than the others” like so many of his love-drunk peers. That alone is incredibly refreshing. “Run from Rock ‘N’ Roll” contains the line “your world is so small, and you feel like you’ve heard it all before; the control takes its toll, but you never thought you’d run from rock ‘n’ roll,” which makes me wonder if Gideon is intimating his own experiences, specifically the breakup of his first band in 2007 that inspired the formation of the breakups. Only Gideon himself knows; the song is so catchy that we won’t spend too long wondering.
Running jumping falling shouting may very well be Gideon’s secret diary set to music, yet the themes are familiar—loneliness, relationships, and, well, breakups. It’s no surprise the breakups’ music has found a home on network television (“I Don’t Want to Know” was used for an episode of “Psych”), that sublime alternate universe where people feel more than they think. And while their name suggests otherwise, the breakups aren’t afraid of committing to their craft; in fact, they’ve boldly claimed to make “2012 the best last year of humanity ever” (via Tumblr). Will this include tour dates? Stay tuned.
The breakups are Jake Gideon (vocals/guitar), Phil Shrut (drums), James Williams (keys), Nik Ahlstam (guitar), and Tim Lee (bass/vocals). Running jumping falling shouting is scheduled for release on February 14th (get it? Valentine’s Day?) but you can pre-order the album via Bandcamp. For more information, visit the band’s official website or Facebook page.
*Lowercase is intentional
)
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