by Matthew Hirsch (@pocketsssssss)
The first eleven seconds of Lance Bangs’ new EP, WHAMMY, are genuinely relaxing. Its delicate guitar strums and pulsating bass trick you into thinking you may have stumbled upon a new, ethereal shoegaze record. This lasts for exactly eleven seconds. After this, you are thrust into songwriter Colin Thibodeau’s exciting and chaotic world -- a world which is directly- and well-reflected by Lance Bangs’ music itself.
“Dead Man,” the first song on WHAMMY, serves as a great introduction to Lance Bangs’ music, Thibodeau’s songwriting, and shows a marked evolution from 2016’s Lance Mountain. Thibodeau has a way of seamlessly bending genres multiple times in one song and, somehow, still never writes a song that passes the three-minute mark. As such, “Dead Man” begins shoegaze, turns post-punk banger, and then combines the two for an excellent ending breakdown. All the while, Thibodeau provides descriptive snapshots into his day-to-day life that nonetheless allow the listener to paint their own picture, singing things like, “Last night / I broke my arm / and you told me / that it turned you off.”
Despite only officially releasing two EPs so far, the Virginia-based trio -- filled out by Joel Alicea (bass, additional vocals) and Gavin Thibodeau (drums) -- have an impeccable rhythmic chemistry. “Spike” is perhaps WHAMMY’s best testament to this fact. They essentially function as one rhythmic unit with no element overpowering the other but everything in its right place. Additionally, the song’s frenetic pace matches the chaos of the lyrics as Thibodeau discusses his own personal struggles with drug addiction.
The remainder of WHAMMY follows suit. “Apt Building” is an excellent and practically danceable post-punk jam, and the EP is rounded out by “Wash,” which has an accompanying video that serves as equal parts trippy expose and documentary of the band’s past few years.
Overall, their new EP serves as an excellent addition to the small but growing Lance Bangs discography. Prior fans of the band will be pleased with WHAMMY’s adherence to and progression of the singular style put on display with Lance Mountain. For new fans, WHAMMY is the perfect place to dive in for the first time, all in just over eleven minutes. I, for one, am excited to hear how these energy-packed songs sound live, but only after we are allowed to leave our homes once again.