Tuesday 9/1: niiice.—"shlonkey kong"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song by the Minneapolis emo band niiice.
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 Minneapolis emo band niiice.
niiice.—“shlonkey kong”
Eli Enis:
The Prince Daddy & The Hyena influence has begun, folks. It’s weird to be about three years removed from my peak years as an ahead-of-the-curve emo fan, because now all the bands I used to see play in basements (P Daddy, Oso Oso, Just Friends) are at the level of inspiring—or at the very least paving the way—for up-and-comers like niiice, who would definitely be grinding the basement emo circuit if it weren’t for *gestures broadly*. They’ve been at it for a couple years now, and although their 2019 EP Never Better never inspired more than a shrugging, “Yeah, this is alright”, from me, I think their new single “shlonkey kong” shows much more promise. Like I said, I think the Kory Gregory from Prince Daddy yells are undeniable, and the verses definitely have some Free Throw inflections to them.
But overall, I think this finds its own space within the crowded cluster of emo-but-verging-on-pop-punk bands that are vying for the ears of the loyal Gami Gang. They definitely pulled out all the stops for the track’s video, which plays like a roving Zoom call of people from Emo Twitter. Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to identify everyone I saw pop on the screen that got me in the mindset, but the lyric “where were you when the roof fell through?” registered as a reference to the Diva Sweetly song “Floor Caved In”—which would be a total insider baseball interpolation, but not out of the realm of possibility (niiice., if you’re reading this let us know). At the end of the day “shlonkey kong” is just another emo song about being anxious while high (“everybody’s scary when I’m high / it’s why I’m smoking alone” is the end refrain), but I think the instrumental performances are tight and the hooks are sticky. Thumbs up.
Eric Bennett:
When I saw the title of the song we’d be writing about today, I just said “yeah, ok, checks out.” It sounds exactly how I’d hope it would. Like a lovingly made mix of Prince Daddy & The Hyena and early Fall Out Boy, “shlonkey kong” is overwhelmingly catchy. “Everybody’s scary when I’m high” almost seems like it should already be a lyric, and niiice. is making up for it not having been by including it here. There are so many new emo bands to keep up with, and I’m sad that niiice. got lost in the mix for me, because this song is perfect.