Shana Falana have quietly been ticking off boxes on their dream band wishlist for years. Live in a beautiful part of NY and make all the city kids dream of a simpler life? Check, Kingston, NY, is incredible. Run and curate a festival that brings a ton of great musicians to town and does an equal, if not larger, amount of good for those musicians? Check, O+ Fest is a total dream. Fix up a building from the 1900’s and turn into a must-stop-spot for touring bands? Check, BSP Kingston needs to be on your radar stat. Last, but not least, bottle up all that incredible artistic energy put it out into the world in the form of a massively poppy shoegaze album. Check, with the release of their latest, Here Comes the Wave.
Our Song of the Day is a bombastic cut of that record, showcasing the looping skills and dynamic control that makes this two piece band sound like an abundance of pro players. “Cool Kids (the Single Version)” starts with a chorus of kids and leaps right into a booming bass line and the soaring vocals of lead singer Shana Falana. The music cuts back as her voice soars higher and higher on the verses, backed by the tom heavy and in-the-pocket groove worthy drums of Michael Amari. As she sings to those on the sidelines of popularity “Hey cool kids / You don’t know who you are / Hey cool kids / It’s safe to come out” and all the instruments continue to swirl and rise around her, it’s easy to wish you had this song in your headphones or blaring out of your sister’s car on the way to school everyday. Musically triumphant and lyrically motivating, the quiet verses evoke the feeling of walking across an empty dance floor towards your one and only true crush. The choruses and bright and bold ending are that perfect moment when your hand sheepishly reaches out and your crush miraculously grabs hold, your beating hearts spinning you round the dance floor, lost in the moment and not caring for a moment if you are the ones all the other kids forgot. If Shana Falana ever decide to stop touring, they have a good shot at becoming as the world’s greatest high school counselors.
Shana Falana hits Atlanta tonight, filling the room of 529 with buzzing atmosphere along side Atlanta’s Twin Studies, Sash the Bash, and Pleasance House. /- Billy Mitchell
Listen to “Cool Kids” on our Spotify Monomania Playlist:
Shana Falana live dates:
11.09 // 529 | Atlanta GA
11.10 // Fond Object | Nashville TN
11.11 // The Crown and Harp | Dallas TX
11.12 // Cheer Up Charlies | Austin TX
11.14 // Monarch | El Paso TX
11.15 // club congress | Tucson AZ
11.17 // The Hideout | San Diego CA
11.18 // Ham and Eggs | Los Angeles CA
11.20 // Make-Out Room | San Francisco CA
11.25 // TBA | Portland OR
11.26 // Black Lodge | Seattle WA
11.27 // The Observatory | Spokane WA
11.29 // Neurolux | Boise ID
12.1 // Kitty Cat Klub | Minneapolis MN
12.2 // Cactus Club | Milwaukee WI
12.3 // Schubas Tavern, Southport, Chicago
12.4 // Foam | St Louis MO
12.7 // Ace of Cups | Columbus OH
12.8 // Mahall’s | Lakewood OH
12.9 // Nietzsche’s | Buffalo NY
12.10 // Bug Jar | Rochester NY
12.11 // Spirit | Pittsburgh PA
