New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Grammy nominated producer/creator boyband has released a vibrant video for "birth by sleep," most recent single taken from his latest release never knows best, out now via Dirty Hit.
boyband has this to say about this video tableau of a relationship "this song gave me a particular color palette and a delicate energy when I made it— so I wanted the visuals to capture that while subtly telling a story of a relationship start to finish."
In tandem with "by myself," and "please don't waste my time" - which features Dirty Hit label mate No Rome - "birth by sleep" forms a trilogy tucked within boyband's emotionally-charged project that magnifies how quickly dependency can send a blossoming relationship into a toxic and destructive spiral. "birth by sleep" and "by myself" create a captivating one-two punch of pop and punk, highlighting boyband's dynamic ability to entangle the intricacies of hip hop, power-pop, and indie. Balancing a melancholy message - the struggle to overcome hopelessness borne from the fear of rejection - with mischievously catchy summer-pop songwriting, "birth by sleep" is juxtaposed by the frenzied and frantic atmosphere of second chapter, "by myself," which parallels the apprehension, anxiety, and fear of being alone that the narrator experiences following an unexpected breakup. Meanwhile, "please don't waste my time" makes it clear that hope is not lost.
Elsewhere on never knows best is "fooly cooly," which navigates the personality, mentality, and psyche of troubled FLCL character Mamimi Samejima. The philosophical title of the project was inspired by Mamimi who scribbles the words never knows best on her cigarette. Throughout the project's 10 tracks, boyband uses his lyrics to speak candidly about depression and the intense experiences of indifference, despondency, and social fatigue often felt by young adults in an effort to normalize these conversations. never knows best has garnered support from the likes of Hollywood Life, All Things Go, AFROPUNK, Ones To Watch, Alternative Press and NPR, who recently highlighted the album on All Things Considered and said they were "struck by how [boyband] opens up on this record and how much he pours his heart out in these song."
The exploration of Mamimi's character arc isn't the first time that anime has stirred boyband to create. "death note" (feat. Billy Martin of Good Charlotte) - which appeared on his emotionally charged, 10-track project, alone in a boyband - was influenced by the 37-episode anime series and manga series of the same name.
Like the art that inspired them, "fooly cooly" and "death note" use deeply profound storytelling to expand and normalize the conversation surrounding the trouble spots in society experienced by teens today. The intimate and unique connections between boyband and his fans has allowed him to create a community-like platform through his songs, like "by myself," "birth by sleep," "tattoo," "realtree" and "big face" (ft. Mike Kinsella), where fans can bond as they transition from teenagers into independent adults.
