Photo by John Shore, from Sunwolf’s Facebook page.
Good rock ‘n’ roll is all about balance. It’s stupid and simple, but it also shoots you a cheeky wink-and-nod. It’s white-hot, incendiary energy, but it can also burn like a tallow candle. Rock ‘n’ roll is best when it marshals all the jittery, sometimes discordant ingredients into one focused, laser-like blast of guitars, drums and joy. We recognized it immediately when we heard D.C. garage-rocking three-piece Sunwolf‘s new single “Push It.”
The song appears on Sunwolf’s upcoming EP Angel Eyes (out October 8). Veteran D.C. musician Jerry Busher produced the record. “Push It” opens with an unadorned, but hypnotic, backbeat and strummed guitar that recalls the rhythmic punch of The Velvet Underground or The Violent Femmes. The hooks are razor-sharp and oohs and la-las’ll make you melt. “The song was written at a practice one night, and then we recorded it in one take, and then overdubbed all of the additional percussion and vocals,” said Sunwolf leader Rob “Kalani” Tifford to MTVHive. The quick pace of the writing and recording lends a liveliness to the song. It’s got a nervous energy, like tapping your fingers on your quickly bouncing knee. When it does happen, the electrified release has the kinetic energy of a sledgehammer. It’s a push-and-pull, and a balance that makes for one heckuva rock ‘n’ roll song.
