Crafting a follow-up to a debut album is nerve-wracking in its own right, and moving to a new city on top of that only adds to that feeling. That’s the space that The Morning Herald finds themselves in, but rather than let that get them down, they channel that anxiety into a new track that feels exuberant and bold in the face of these changes.
The indie rockers got their start in Philadelphia with their first album Undiscovered Oceans, which drew from both the introversion of post-rock and the anthemic larger-than-life sound of alternative rock. They’ve since relocated to Back Bay, and their entry into the Boston music scene comes with a strong first impression through a new spin on their sound.
The latest single from the band, “Plus One,” is a tightly-composed psych-rock jam from the perspective of someone gripped with anxiety while asking a date to a dinner party. Opening with a steadily chugging guitar riff, lead singer Zach Leone makes the central trepidations of the lyrics clear early on through the self-assurance that “all of this will go away.” When the chorus comes, the song bursts open into a series of harmonized nervous pleas to be understood by the invited party guest, while synths, glockenspiel, and tambourine enter the forefront. By the time the track closes with a blisteringly fuzzed-out guitar solo, it arrives like a much-needed release from the tension that simmers on the verses.
Along with the song comes a fittingly psychedelic lyric video set in a mind-bending never-ending elevator ride. The video’s blend of analog and digital film styles is a perfect match for the track’s modern approach to a garage rock sound, with the vibrant explosion of color reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey during the chorus serving as a trippy representation of how the song evolves instrumentally. Like the song itself, the lyric video acts as a potent visual metaphor for the restless anxiety that comes with socializing and dating, a mental state that can feel continuous and without exit in its own way.
Watch the lyric video for “Plus One” below, and listen to the song on your choice of streaming platform.