Yeah, I know. I KNOW. Welcome to the party pal. It’s only been, what, three weeks since Dinner Time uncorked this little humdinger of a sad bop. But you know what? It ain’t always about when you arrive; sometimes it’s what you take with you that matters. And right now I’m feeling these melancholy sunset vibes. That slinky groove, perky yet somehow languid at the same time. The slightly inebriated nonchalance of the hooks. The subtle gut-punch of a line like: “9 to 5 and then you’re home; 5 to 9 and then you’re stoned.” Whoo boy.

As the lead single from their upcoming sophomore album, Halfway Down, “What’s the Deal” isn’t a massive leap from what Dinner Time has offered up in the past. The surfy guitars and tropical energy still persist. But it’s clear the band has grown and gotten more comfortable in their skin like that cool older cousin who let you sip on their beer and got you high for the first time. The song targets the exhausting and mostly thankless grind of working in the service industry. Sure, it can be fun, but mostly it’s an intractable wheel of long nights and double shifts that eventually chews you up.

Directed by Andrew Marlowe, the video opens with a similar surface mood as the track. The band is gathered around a poker table, playing cards, smoking cigars, and sipping on bourbon. Everything seems peachy. But it quickly becomes apparent that gambling is just a metaphor for sacrificing one’s life to make ends meet. And when the only capital you have is time, it’s rare to come out with a winning hand. There’s some performance footage thrown in and a yellow door that represents (perhaps) the endlessly revolving cycle of coming and going. Work. Home. Sleep. Repeat. It all sounds like a bummer, but at least we’ve got another bouncy Dinner Time jam to get us through the week.

Watch/listen above.

Halfway Down is scheduled for release later this fall via the Record Machine.

Dinner Time will perform on Fri., Aug. 20 at Vinyl alongside Wiley From Atlanta, Tayls, and Cold Beaches. Admission is $10 in advance or $12 DOS. Doors open at 7 p.m. 18+ to enter.

More Info
Bandcamp: dinner-time.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @dinner.time.usa
Instagram: @dinnertime.usa
Twitter: @dinnertime_usa