Tag: Teenager Romance for Rent

Top 15 singles of 2020: #’s 10 – 6

We’re already at my top 10 singles of 2020. Time’s already flying by!

#10: Liam Kazar – “Shoes Too Tight”

This came out of nowhere and turned out to be one of the catchiest, sharpest singles I heard all year. Mr. Kazar can’t come out with a full-length album soon enough for my liking. This song shows a level of playful artistry sorely lacking in a lot of music right now.

#9: Matt Karmil – “210”

This house track drops like an empty Red Bull can onto a dance floor full of sweaty, sexy people. I’m not sure I can sum it up better than that.

#8: Protomartyr – “Processed By the Boys”

This track from Ultimate Success Today is a great example of what Protomartyr do so well – blending mysterious lyrics and vocals with rock chops that border on psychedelia.

#7: Heartless Bastards – “Revolution”

This surprise single came out of Erika Wennerstrom being frustrated with damn well everything in 2020. She summed up how we all felt and gave us a rallying cry for 2021.

#6: Teenager – “Good Time”

Listening to this is some of the best music fun I had all year. It was stuck in my head for days after first hearing it. It’s a song about how love is fleeting to a sweet groove that is nothing short of smile-inducing.

Only five left to go! Who makes it to the top? Come back tomorrow to learn!

Keep your mind open.

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Teenager offer “Romance for Rent” on new single.

Photo by Jake Sherman

WATCH: Teenanger’s “Romance For Rent” video on YouTube

Toronto’s DIY scene purveyors, Teenanger have today shared their blistering new single, “Trillium Song“, the second to be lifted from the new record, Good Time – out October 2 via Telephone Explosion Records – which has so far earned praise from outlets like Paste, The Line of Best Fit, Exclaim, BBC 6 Music, So Young and more. The new record, which comes mixed by renowned Toronto musician, Sandro Perri, follows previous releases that have found the band share stages across North America and Europe with the likes of METZ, Ty Segall, Death From Above, Dilly Dally, Dish Pit and more.

“Romance For Rent” presents another snappy highlight from the forthcoming record with the quartet pulling on incisive hooks and buoyant melodies that further mine this fresh, pop-punk angle to the group’s sound. There’s a sharpness here, not just in the sonic arrangement but also in the lyrics that give a satiric examination of the world of online dating and the perplexing moves that we sometimes make as individuals when caught in the throes of romance. The video, which was shot at the height of lockdown, looks at this further, examining the role of isolation and how this can manipulate people to do peculiar things with the hope of a quick fix.

“The lyrics were inspired by a friend of mine who had come out of a long-term relationship and was exploring the world of online dating,” says singer, Chris Swimmings. “I’ve been a serial monogamist for the last 12 years so it was a vicarious exploration into his life at the time.”

Blair elaborates on Swimmings’ sentiment to say: “The ‘Romance for Rent’ video takes the idea of loneliness and buying love and puts it in a blender with internet culture. It follows a lonely man who, rather than learning how to connect with others, connects with a meme pillow, and finds some short-lived solace with it; he is trying to solve his loneliness with an internet search, and kinda clings to the first thing he finds – a celebrity pillow. When that fails to get him the attention or connection that he was looking for, he goes back online. Rather than changing anything about himself or what he’s looking for, he just repeats the same cycle.”

Good Time is out on October 2nd on Telephone Explosion. It is available for pre-order here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]