“I Wanna Be A Hipster” is the latest track by Drug Store Raid, an excellent Finnish group based in Helsinki. It’s their third piece of work in 2024, serving as an adequate follow-up to”Vi Är Finnjävlar” and “Your Mother,” two marvelous songs released earlier this year that you should immediately check out. Still, their brand new single carries many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, indicating the continuous creative progression of the band that never ceases to amaze. It’s the first taster from “Background Music For Family Arguments,” their upcoming full-length album, slated for release on November 15th November via Kieku Records. By balancing critique and satire, Drug Store Raid criticizes all levels of modern consumer society by pointing the finger at the omnipresent hipster movement. From wardrobe to behavior, the band spares no punches in mocking up their often unexplainable causes, decisions, and manners. It’s a funny and entertaining ode to a particular facet of contemporary subculture. Soundwise, Drug Store Raid embraces many styles and approaches to depict such vivid sonic imagery. Perhaps post-punk comes to mind first, but don’t be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from art-punk, punk rock, noise rock, garage, or alternative. Drug Store Raid continuously breaks the rules and shapeshifts boundaries with their experimentation without overwhelming their signature moves, offering such a fresh and unique take on post-punk sound without sacrificing anything.
Once again, Drug Store Raid fires all the weapons from their impressive sonic arsenal, proving they’re one of the most creative bands on the European post-punk scene. Their ideas go way beyond comprehension and you’ll stumble upon some interesting arrangements rarely seen on the modern underground music scene. The way they continuously levitate between all those styles is what makes this track entertaining the most. Their experimental nature is always upfront, making “I Wanna Be A Hipster” such an exceptional piece worth repeating over and over again. The rhythm sections burst with such precision, groove, and power. You’ll hear all those marvelous rhythmic sequences built upon intricate, well-accentuated, tastefully arranged, and flawlessly performed lurking around, providing more than necessary groove and pace while keeping the remainder of the band in line. There are semi-distorted, audible, equally complex low-ends punching from beneath, binding everything together while offering heftiness, clearness, and depth. These two instruments act as a backbone, delivering stability and power to the song. They’re continuously present in the mix, bringing all those rhythmic patterns and basslines with such precision and finesse, and their presence gives those noise rock or post-hardcore vibes. Still, the remainder of the band leans much more towards post-punk and art-punk waters, proving Drug Store Raid’s versatility and uniqueness.
The guitars are solely responsible for all the rawness, abrasiveness, and grittiness thanks to all those generously distorted, choppy, intricate chord progressions and riffs. You’ll notice all those small details, nuances, accentuations, subtle melodies, and harmonies lurking around, offering more complexity to an already complex structure. This cleverly assembled interplay acts as a perfect backdrop, providing more than necessary soundscape for all other instrumentations and vocal maneuvers to shine upon. You’ll notice how the band included some synths and brass experimentations along the way. These two instruments spice things up and elevate “I Wanna Be A Hipster” to a completely new level. Perhaps they’re more subtle during the verses, but you’ll notice them during the pre-choruses and choruses, delivering all those dominant, high-pitched notes. Like in their previous works, the vocals command attention and guide the listening apparatus from scratch to finish. The powerful shouts seamlessly glide over all these experimentations, instrumentations, and segments, decorating everything Drug Store Raid intended to achieve with their latest single. It’s a vital ingredient that makes this track even more interesting and it steals the show during most segments of the song.
As you can see, Drug Store Raid once again delivered a premium post-punk experience, garnered with many additional elements, ingredients, details, and nuances, making “I Wanna Be A Hipster” such an enjoyable sonic journey worth repeating over again. Their boundless creativity, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship will blow you away. Drug Store Raid is one of the most exciting post-punk bands this year, and this song is more than rock-solid proof. You should check out “I Wanna Be A Hipster” as soon as possible. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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