By Charlie Maybee
Based in New York City, surf rock band, The Upsides, have returned with their most upbeat and chill song yet titled “Holy Water” to help beat those pandemic blues.
Sporting some syncopated rhythm guitar and a pulsing bass line, this is a song made for chilling by the poolside, or in a friend’s living room for a game night. With a clear intention to capture a moment of stillness, as if floating in a pool of water, there’s just enough momentum to feel the breeze pass by, but not enough to pull us out of a state of relaxation and calm.
It’s the second line of the chorus that really drives this go-with-the-flow mentality home, as Fullam sings, “Pay attention to the timing / You might be arriving / This might be the right thing.” Whether you need a break or a change of perspective or scenery, this is a song that will immediately transport you to the joys of summer.
The band writes, “This is our second single, and a sort of companion to our debut single ‘Gold Rush.’ It was written after coming back to our home of NYC from sunny LA and is a bit of a homage to the visceral sights and sounds we experienced as the city started to slowly come back to life from the pandemic. It’s probably the poppiest /boppiest song we have, and we’re really pumped to release it.”
“Holy Water” is available now on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud. Follow our Alchemical Multigenre Mixdown playlist for more great music featured on the site.
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.
