We’re extremely excited to share this with you.
The Clydes, the alt-pop-rock band from New Brunswick, N.J., has dropped a new song, ‘Don’t Say,’ as part of Speak Into My Good Eye’s Second Annual 24-Hour Songwriting Challenge.
[Editor’s Note: The Clydes are longtime friends of Pop-Break, and it’s no secret that singer Brent Johnson co-founded the site with yours truly in 2009.]
The concept was simple: Bands and artists across the tri-state area had 24 hours to write and record a brand new song. The best songs would end up on a compilation curated by Speak Into My Good Eye, a New Jersey-based music blog. The compilation will be officially released at SIMGE’s CMJ Showcase on Thursday, Oct. 15 at Littlefied in Brooklyn. The show will feature Julian Fulton, Deal Casino, A Deer A Horse, Mount Sharp, and Vivid Dreams. For more info, click here.
As for the Clydes track? It’s a bit of a departure for the band, who released their first full-length album, Hiding From The Summer, in May.
“The song is a little softer and more hushed than much of our material,” singer and rhythm guitarist Brent Johnson said. “We wanted it to sound moody. Like it’s meant to be played at night and in the dark.”
Another way to put it: The track is like a cross between Elliott Smith and the Delta blues.
Brent and brother Brian Johnson — the band’s lead guitarist — wrote and recorded the song at home.
“Brian backed it all with a spooky slide guitar part,” Brent said. “We were going to add more atmosphere with keyboards, but we ran out of time. That’s part of the challenge, though. You hand in what you have. We still think it sounds cool.”
Asked about the lyrics, Brent said he had a “weird idea” in his mind.
“I wanted to write a common story from the perspective of a literary character,” he said. “I kept thinking of Macbeth. What if he wanted to break away from Lady Macbeth but couldn’t? Like he keeps being drawn back. That’s a universal dilemma.”
