New Yorkers, Guards, have just finalised their debut album, In Guards We Trust, set for release on the 29th April 2013, so here’s an early listen of what to expect and our take on the album’s lead single, Ready To Go. Released on the 22nd of April, the single opens up the 60s summer time feel of the album with a video (below) that will probably send a lot of you (the no longer a teenager side at least) back to the perfect teen summers that you were either lucky enough to have or always dreamed of.
It kicks off with a big hit of sun drenched psych pop with fuzzed up guitar coming in like a wave on a crashing cymbal. It ties in with the opening sequence of the video to the track perfectly as the main girl goes to blow out a flaming sparkler, which flashes on the sunshine of summer days in a blaze of cherry red lipstick behind a black and white lens.
The motorik drums and Spector influenced wall of lint-flecked noise make the single a great foot stomper that’ll make you believe that summer might actually be on it’s way after all. However, the chorus brings even more action with an anthemic call of, “We’re up and ready to go!”, with some ringing guitar riffs and pounding drums.
The band is made up of Richie James Follin, Loren Ted Humphrey, and Kaylie Church (who sadly either doesn’t have a middle name or didn’t want to share it for asymmetrical reasoning). Following in the footsteps and general soundscape of his sister, Madeline Follin, Richie looks and sounds like he could be the Cults band member that never was, however, in Guards he’s got his own vehicle for new-wave 60s psych pop.
Talking about the ethos behind Ready To Go, Kaylie explains, “We wanted to capture a similar feeling of that teenage sexual exploration that Bogdonavich mastered in his film The Last Picture Show, for the ‘Ready To Go’ video. The song is a truly sexually charged, anthemic sing-along and our goal was to have our video represent that innocence and curiosity.”
With a cool new single, full-on coming of age video that looks like Shane Meadows meets the cast from Skins in small town America, plus a full album eating in the wings, the new sound of summer could be Guards.
Guards, Ready To Go review: 4.3/5
Guards have also got a UK gig scheduled for the 25th of May at the Field Day Festival in Victoria Park, London.
