by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
After three years and as many EPs, Brooklyn’s QWAM are getting ready to release their self-titled debut album on April 19th. The quartet take influence from the colorful post-punk of The B-52s to the pop of No Doubt, their songs both jittery, jangly, and full of rattled excitement for things like going to the mall, alien encounters, changing perceptions and the way those go addressed by those around us. It’s full of sticky hooks and frantic punk rippers, a good time that’s as much power-pop as it is raw energy.
The record’s second single, “Buy A Toy,” seems to deal with themes of disposability, the idea of buying a new toy, only to lose interest shortly after. The lyrics come in a set of quick repetitive lines, each one anthemic as the band howl them out one piece at a time over warbling distortion and a steady pounding rhythm. The band join together for gang vocals on the hook, “I picked you up from the corner store, guess I didn’t really want you anymore.” The idea of something being tossed aside never felt so fun.