By Charlie Maybee
Philadelphia based indie rocker, Barney Cortez, is back with a new single titled “Protein” which brings contemporary guitar tones and synthesizers to a ballad-like song feels like a mesh between Cage the Elephant and Bruce Springsteen.
“It’s just about freedom,” Cortez says. “The exhilaration of moving from city to city on tour. That feeling you have of complete excitement of what the future might bring. It’s the type of song you wanna put on when you’re driving”. The track is laid back enough that you can sit with it for a while, but there’s an undeniable drive that gives it enough speed to allow a blurring sensation – like you’re looking out the window of a car, but your eyes are just unfocused enough that you’re not 100% sure what you’re looking at or even where you are.
As the second single leading up to the release of Cortez’s new LP titled Hulabaloo on August 19, 2022, there’s a moodiness that washes over every note. “Hullabaloo was the perfect title for this album, because it spoke to all the turmoil and confusion I saw in the world and in myself as covid spread,” Cortez notes. “It’s an outcry but also a question on what making music really meant in the grand scheme of things. I felt small again and that was a good thing. I saw a lot of the absurdity in the things I thought were important.”
Protein in this scenario seems to describe a feeling of strength that he gets whenever he is around a specific person. As the main phrase of the chorus builds, Cortez eventually lands on the final version “You’re my protein / Always running around, running around”. There’s a boost of energy that comes with this personified supplement that will keep their adventures going non-stop. So, hitch a ride because there’s plenty of good vibes and good times to go around.
“Protein” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, and Pandora; as well as the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
