Ah, youth. What a restless time. At the ripe old age of 22, I can cast my mind back to when staying in place felt like a crime. It sort of sucked? The difference between that period of time and the new single from Why Not is that "Ding Dong" absolutely doesn't suck. The opposite, in fact, is true — it totally rules.
The recently-christened "post-indie" trio makes another dramatic sonic shift with their latest song, produced by Caleb Hinz of Normal Parents. If the rampant experimentation of EP was the sound of the band stretching themselves in as many directions as possible (to quite satisfying results, I might add), this is a culmination. All the threads are tied together, unified in a pursuit of a new direction. Pop and art are fused. Insert more pretension here. Suffice to say, it slaps.
Henry Breen's lyrics have always toed the line between function and surrealism, with the exception of "Ready 4 the World," a song that is about climate change. On "Ding Dong," this remains mostly true, at least until the chorus. "I'm not going out tonight unless my baby's warm" could've been taken from any pop hit between 1959 and 2019, but instead it's in a Why Not song. There's an undeniable absurdist glee in the contrast between this line and stuff like "Nothing really matters / It's seeping through my blood." Therein lies another one of the joys of Why Not.
This is probably the first Why Not that someone could argue doesn't "shred." The math-punk fury of the past has departed and we are left with...violin? In lieu of shredding, the band grooves. The odd interchanging time signatures are the only math-y element left. The bass stays fluid and Joshua MacGregor continues to make a case for himself as one of the most diverse drummers in the scene. Isaac Dell's guitar is more subdued than it often is, but he makes great use of his featured moments.
At its core, "Ding Dong" is a pop song. It's a pop song filtered through some sort of twisted kaleidoscope and stuffed to the point of bursting with weird ideas. This is a new headspace for Why Not to be in going into their next album. It's hardly surprising. Unexpected, no. Thrilling, absolutely.
Stream "Ding Dong" below or on your streaming service of choice. Or buy it on Bandcamp, you old person.
There's also a video. It has the same energy as a middle schooler in an Apple Store first discovering the Photo Booth app. There's ASMR chewing. At one point, Henry looks like this. It's a fun lil' trip.
Lastly, I interviewed the band about "Ding Dong" and their new direction. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts.
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