by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
There’s a special feeling reserved for the first time you hear a new band and are instantly blown away. It’s a feeling that replaces all the bullshit and stress that comes with digging for new music in a sea of mediocrity. Furbie, a new band from Chicago, give me that feeling. They give me a hope that things will be alright and we don’t have to settle for whatever’s “hip”. While the band have been playing together for a little over a year, “Skiball” is their first single, and its an amazing first impression.
The quartet, led by Annie Burns and Mercedes Webb (Slow Mass) together with Sean Hallock (Rozwell Kid) and Liam Burns make an instant impact with the slow and detached twin guitar line of the intro, a gorgeous tone that you could almost call sludgy if it weren’t so damn pretty. According to their wonderful single-sentence bio, Furbie are heavily influenced by both pot and marijuana, and you can hear it in the molasses dripped groove. Burns and Webb’s duel vocals kick in with thickened harmonies after about thirty seconds, and at this point we’re just trying to play it cool. The lyrics call back to a child-like era when things were good, when a high score in skiball was enough for happiness.
The band wind their way into a heavier thud without much of a shift in their bent melodies, but things get weirder and wonderful(er) as they sing “Hey man, do you want a hug, from someone who’s screaming? Let’s rub on a rug, ‘til our skin is peeling. Fill me with fuzz, ‘til there’s no room for feeling.” Then it all erupts. From there the ground gives out and the band launch into a colossal dirge of distorted guitars and a glorious fade back to the calm. There are so many different earworms in this single, it’s built for repeat listens. We truly cannot wait to hear more.