Coming as it does from a record that’s been nearly a decade in the making, it’s a relief to discover there is nothing forced or belabored about “We’re Gonna Waste Your Time.” Instead, the lead track from the Shut-Ups’ forthcoming fifth album, Just Another Generation, barrels by in a breezy three-and-a-half minutes, leaving behind a sparkling trail of surging guitars and punchy power-pop hooks. It’s a sugary throwback with just the right gleam of new wave flair, but don’t let the song’s brisk pace and nostalgic glow fool you: the album’s excruciatingly long and drawn-out process certainly took its toll on the longtime Atlanta-Athens five-piece.
“Having grown up on preachy television sitcoms, I thought it was important that we say everything that needed to be said about Time in exactly thirty minutes,” says bandleader Don Condescending in the group’s press release. “We spent several years trimming couplets, deleting extraneous measures of music, using contractions to save syllable time, increasing beats per minute, and replacing single entendres with doubles and doubles with triples. It was exhausting.”
Fortunately, the result of all that fastidious editing is one of the catchiest jams of this young year; the fact that its toe-tapping pep is tempered by Condescending’s moody mediations on being and time only make it that much better to dig into. Eight years is a long time to pursue anything, but if the rest of the record sounds anything like this, I’ll be the first to say the work was well worth the pain.
Just Another Generation is out Apr. 13.
The Shut-Ups will celebrate the release of Just Another Generation on Fri., Apr. 13 at 529 alongside Weisshund. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $7. 21+ to enter.
More Info
Bandcamp: shutups.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @theshutups