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While there've been some fine power pop records this year between the new Whiffs and Tee Vee Repairmann, one release we've been anticipating all year is from the unflinchingly, self-assured Los Angeles foursome Uni Boys, who will be releasing their fourth LP Buy This Now!, out October 13th through Brent Rademaker's mighty Curation Records, a label that's been on a roll with releases from Big Star legend Jody Stephens and Luther Russell's latest band Those Pretty Wrongs and rising glam rocker Billy Tibbals. Tapping the source code of '70s power pop idols (think Shoes, The Quick, Milk 'N' Cookies, The Real Kids, and The Incredible Kidda Band), Uni Boys ascend from their formula of melodic guitar lines and ridiculously catchy hooks on their latest single "I Want It Too," which we have the pleasure of premiering today.
Where songs off last year's LP Do It All Next Week dug its hooks under heartfelt devotion and mastered the simplicity of a three-minute pop song, the new single is a confessional spoken tale that bolts out the speakers with its ragged Alex Chilton-worship riffage and romping keys from brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario of The Lemon Twigs, who also produced the new album. While the Uni-Boys know quite well how to read the power pop playbook, they evoke the kind of goofball, hapless romantic sentiment that got handed down from the Ramones Rock 'n' Roll High School and was repeated infinitely through the 1980s on-screen from The Plimsouls to Adam Roth's unearthed B-movie bliss. The four twenty-somethings in Uni Boys demonstrate that musical obsession doesn't have to lead to recycled nostalgia. Sometimes, something old becomes new again.
Tumbling down the power pop staircase, we had the pleasure in catching up with Uni Boys guitarist-vocalists Noah Nash and Reza Matin and bassist Michael Cipolletti, who tell us all about the new single and what it was like working the D'Addario brothers in their Brooklyn studio.
Paperface Zine: Congrats on the new single! Talk to me a bit about how this one together and why it was selected as the lead cut out of the bunch to promote the new record?
Noah Nash: It was just a demo that was sitting around for a while like a lot of the tracks on the album and luckily Reza really dug it when I showed him it and it just turned into something much grander than it originally was with the help of the band and the D'Addario's.
Reza Matin: We also wanted to release this as the lead single so we have more time to
finish the music videos for the singles we got coming out later. They're a step up from the ones we made last year for "On Your Lovin' Mind" and "Hypocrite."
PZ: Do It All Next Week was one of our favorite albums last year, so what can you tell me about this new one you got coming out in the fall? What was it like working with the D'Addario brothers in their new Brooklyn studio?
RM: In terms of songwriting for the new album, I felt we pushed ourselves a little bit to write longer and more structured songs a little and added a layer of harmonies, keys, and percussion that wasn't there before. Thanks to Brian and Michael, the album was recorded fully analog straight to tape which was the complete opposite from what we did with our previous record. I feel like those guys helped us bring a new element and helped tied everything together for this new record.
Michael Cipolletti: It was so fun hanging with those guys too. It was basically like one long hangout session while also trying new things without the added pressure you would have working in a studio and being timed.
PZ: Luckily for this premiere, Curation sent me the whole LP, which I've been playing nonstop. One of my favorite cuts so far is the opener "Let's Watch a Movie." What can you tell me about the making of this one?
NN: Thanks! It just sort migrated naturally into our live shows for the better part of the year and we just thought it'd be a good one to kick off the album since there's a familiarity to it.
RM: It's the only song from the new album we've been playing live too.
PZ: It's almost been a year since you released Do It All Next Week. What are your thoughts now looking back on that album?
RM: You know I just listened to it the other day and I feel like we've come a long way from it already as a group. However songs like "On Your Lovin' Mind," "Take a Look Around," and "Up to You" still really resonate with me. I just think we're heading in the right direction now which feels really motivating. There's some pressure now, but that's a good thing!
PZ: How hype are you guys to be playing Ugly Things' 40th Anniversary Weekender at the end of the month?
RM: We're definitely excited to play the festival! We're big fans of the magazine and met Mike Stax when we played a show with his band The Loons in León, Spain last year. We had a great time hanging with him then and are looking forward to seeing him again and being a part of his festival.
PZ: What can you tell me about the chemistry when the four of you play together? What do you admire most about each other?
RM: We all go way back with each other from our high school days which is the best part about this band. I cannot picture us not being friends or making music with one another.
NN: I think we're all pretty well-informed with music and obsessed with the same genres which has helped out a lot.
MC: The best thing I could ever do is show Reza and Noah a song they've never heard and then I feel like I accomplished something [laughs].
Buy This Now! is out October 13th on Curation Records.