Band Profile - Single File

Genre: Alternative

"Howard was really understanding of us and where we were coming from and the kind of record that we wanted to make," says Ginsberg. The result is an exuberant, adrenalin-fueled album that simultaneously celebrates and subverts classic pop songwriting, with a tip of the hat to musical forebears such as Tom Petty, Weezer and the Beatles. "We were really looking for a raw-sounding record, not necessarily a grunge thing but more that early 90s sound," says Depew, noting how instrumental mixer Tom Lord-Alge was in the process.

Album opener "Mannequin Loveseat" sets the tone – lighthearted on the surface but dark around the edges as its cheeky, self-absorbed narrator surrenders to social phobia. Bookended by the trio's cheery whistles, lead single "Girlfriends" details a cycle of self-loathing and self-medication while pleading "so what if I'm a burnout, baby, you don't gotta celebrate it."

While the "I don't care" attitude and euphoric pop-rock melodies of "Pizza Girl" and "Miss Cherry Lipgloss" mask an underlying pain, songs like "Airports" and "Don't Hate" confront it head on. "Three years is a long, long time to fly standby/And pillow-talk from a cellular phone isn't healthy--/Neither am I," confesses Anderson on the former, coming to terms with the ruins of a relationship.

"Loneliness and distance are probably the two biggest themes of the record," he says. Yet with "Blue Sky Happiness" and "Benson Shady Grove," Single File emerges on the other side, finding a sense of hope and resolve. Heady stuff for a bunch of songs that clock in at about three minutes each.

"Yeah, we're not messing around – none of those four or five minute long songs," Ginsberg jokes. "There's a lot in there, if you're looking for it. If you're not, there's still a lot in there – or you can just bob your head," says Anderson. "We were going for timeless. I don't know if we've got it or not, but damn it if we didn't try."