Slow Parade—and by extension the work of songwriter Matthew Pendrick—has always been hard to pin down with one foot planted firmly on the terra firma of Americana’s slide guitars and cowboy chords, and another dangling loose in the cosmic fabric of noisy indie rock, spurs poking from Pendrick’s moon boots. On the band’s forthcoming LP, Hi-Fi Low Life, Pendrick seeks to up the ante with stronger, more confident writing chops and brash, compelling narratives.
Today we’re excited to premiere the album’s latest single “Do Not Disturb,” a mercurial, tension-wracked banger about decoupling from technology. Throughout the track, Pendrick sings with clear-eyed yet world-weary resignation about digital rabbit holes and FOMO paranoia.
The song starts unassuming enough—there’s a lulling acoustic guitar and warm vocals—but it’s quickly clear this isn’t business-as-usual cornpone Americana. Soon the anxiety gets ramped up with big drums, chromatic saloon piano, and ambient noise amplifying the song’s thematic chaos. As the music builds in successive waves, Pendrick poses circular observations about social media’s obsessive allure: “I can’t decide which me to choose / the I in I / or the me I made for you.” The track ends with a rousing repeated salvo of “I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough,” landing somewhere between sheer ecstasy and complete terror.
Listen below.
Hi-Fi Low Life is due out next year.
More Info
Bandcamp: slowparademusic.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @slowparadeatl
Instagram: @slowparade1
SoundCloud: @SlowParademusic