Tuesday 8/4: Lawn—"Jane Ryan"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the New Orleans post-punk band Lawn.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the New Orleans post-punk band Lawn.
Lawn—“Jane Ryan”
Eric Bennett:
This track grew on me with alarming speed. Upon my first few listens, I found it pretty long-winded and didn’t think it lived up to the energy it’s trying to convey. It only took maybe five or so listens for me to totally reassess my feelings. I think its chorus is powerful and like a riptide just takes you out suddenly, even if you know that force is coming. It’s also just silly that this wouldn’t win me over because of how much it reminds me of the very selective handful of things I like about [Redacted Post-Punk Band]’s stomping, hard-hitting drums, and winding, purposefully opaque storytelling. Lawn gets bonus points because unlike [Redacted Post-Punk Band], they never tried to have me track them down coke after booking them in college. So, kudos, I guess.
Eli Enis:
Lawn play a breed of fizzy, peppy post-punk that really does it for me. This new track is tight and hypnotic in a krautrock way, but the edges are frayed enough to keep things feeling like it could get messy at any moment. For a brief passage at the end it does, as the track builds into a prickly, overgrown guitar solo that suddenly gets snipped and becomes quiet acoustic strumming and muttered vocals. This track sounds kind of like the tingly Rochester band Full Body crossed with Attack On Memory-era Cloud Nothings. A burner, a banger, a bop—whatever you wanna call it, this thing hits nicely.