On March 1st, Connecticut-based indie pop band Internet Tears released their new single ‘Death & His Friends’. The quartet consists of vocalist Daniel Louis, bassist Esteban Rivera, guitarist Chris Jones and drummer Zack Apuzzo. Although the band has released several singles and a self-titled debut EP since 2021, this track is the first one under the independent label Black Barrel Records. The American band’s sound is inspired by several genres, including pop rock and synth punk, and takes notice of more nostalgic 80s synth sounds – a comeback that is very prevalent in the music scene today, with many popular artists taking inspiration from this era.
In this new single of “indie pop sadness”, Internet Tears makes use of the 80s synth sound right from the start. With the snapping of fingers added to the organ-sounding synths, the song is a catchy one immediately. The track was penned by the quartet’s frontman Daniel Louis as an homage to one of his favourite musicians, Garrett Garfield, from the band Death and All His Friends, who passed in November 2020. “You were good enough to change the world” is the lyric Louis opens this song with. While the instruments sound quite joyful, the text sets a sadder tone, especially at the end of the first verse with the lyrics “The good die young and never old.”
Throughout the pre-chorus and chorus, Louis reflects on the importance of taking care of your mental health, stating “I don’t wanna go the way you go”. In these parts of the song, the band makes use of several layers of vocals and vocal effects to create an immersive experience and give the listener the feeling of being directly spoken to. In the second verse, the band adds several adlibs to reinstate the importance of what they’ve been saying throughout the song – that no matter what you’ve gone through, death is not the answer. It’s quite painful knowing the context of the song, yet beautiful. The second chorus’ vocals are a lot clearer than the first’s, adding to the feeling that the singer has “realised everything”, as he sings in the chorus. “I don’t wanna know the way you know, and I don’t wanna go the way you go” the singer repeats several times before the synths fade out to nothing.
This track is a haunting one because while at first listen it might just sound like an upbeat indie pop track, it is so much more than that. It’s a beautiful way for a band to honour someone whom they admire while at the same time sharing a hopeful message of overcoming one’s past and deciding to stay on this earth. It must also be said that this band in the wide array of indie pop bands manages to have their unique sound. This is only the first single under their new label and it’s already majorly promising!
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Ilse Muis
