Rock n’ roll rebellion comes in a lot of different forms, but in the case of Pretty Awkward’s new aptly-titled single “Misfits,” it’s hitting us in stylized lyricism that is sharper than a samurai sword. There’s been a lot of talk among the critics lately about whether or not gentler pop rock in the style of “Misfits” can stand up to the increasingly surreal sounds of a burgeoning alternative rock underground, but in this track, I think Pretty Awkward answer the question with a melodic wallop you aren’t soon to forget – no matter how discriminating a listener you might be.
URL: https://www.prettyawkwardband.com/
SMART URL: https://orcd.co/misfits
There’s literally nothing plasticized or fake about the melody found in the chorus of this single; instead of putting us through the predictable volley of rhythm and rhyme, this juncture of the track offers us an organic punch from the instrumentation all too perfectly matched with the ensuing vocal harmony’s size. You can tell that a lot of time went into getting the kinks worked out of this number, primarily because of how smooth all of the transitions are. You can’t rehearse the chemistry and the connectivity in “Misfits,” but if you’re lucky, you can capture it on tape in a three minute pop song like Pretty Awkward did.
The production quality here is dripping with a heavy polish I normally would not approve of for a rock-based single, but in this scenario the sparkle is being incorporated into the music as yet another agent of evocation. There’s no escaping the emotional riptide in “Misfits” for a couple of reasons, the first being that almost every corner of the mix has been weaponized in the war for your affections. Whether it be the bassline or the texture of the strings at the midpoint of the track, everything is putting in to the yearning for catharsis these words try and describe.
“Misfits” definitely makes me want to hear more vocal-driven music from Pretty Awkward in the future, but not because any of the instrumental fabric is being sidelined in favor of giving the singer all of the spotlight. There’s so much that the vocal is doing to turn the melody into a mood here, and it would almost be even more compelling to hear a stripped-down version of the track just to confirm the strength of its compositional bones. It gauges what their creative ethos is, and that’s always a good thing in a third single.
Pretty Awkward aren’t playing with the same kind of house money a lot of their major label competition would be if granted the same amount of time in this studio this group has, but they’re still making some of the more elite sounds in pop/rock this summer without getting overambitious as creators. This is a fascinating time to be coming onto the rock scene, but these Seattleites don’t seem to fazed by the strangeness of the age we’re living in today – actually, it would seem like they’re loving every moment of life in “Misfits.”
Jodi Marxbuty