I go back and forth about whether it’s that playful, catchy guitar hook or the “Oooh Yeah Yeah Yeah” chorus that really kills me about “New Guy.” It’s both elements in tandem that make the song so obviously a beach tune – an energetic ball of carefree pleasure that you might as well put on repeat for a little while.
But like great pop songs since the early days, that party vibe carrying the music is used for lyrics that point in a whole different direction – in this case the fits and starts of possible new romance, even though the old flames aren’t necessarily out: “I know it looks like I’ve moved on, but I’ve needed someone else since you’ve been gone”
Wet & Reckless is basically a Los Angeles band, but it’s the Tucson roots of bassist Jessica Gelt that allow Fort Lowell Records to stretch its definition of local music just a bit.
On the B-side is an entirely different vibe, on which Tracy Shedd manages to invert the inverse that “New Guy” uses so well. Here is an almost spooky sounding song about a night out dancing. Moody and slow, “Tear It Up” breaks the mind free from the body, bringing about a slow-mo, drugged-out cinematic feel. And that mandolin… ominous and chilling, like a beast circling, closing ever so slowly on its prey.
Stream:Wet & Reckless - New Guy / Tracy Shedd - Tear It Up
