In their latest release, "if you think it's cool," groan room once again proves that they're masters of turning raw emotion into sound. Hailing from the North of England, the band taps into that 90s indie rock aesthetic, but they're doing something very uniquely their own and of-the-now. There's a gorgeous unease throughout this track, the feeling that you're treading water while the world keeps turning, and groan room gets that feeling down with such an uneasy authenticity.
The song patters out like an inner monologue given a fuzz-rock suit. It starts gently, a gauzy hesitation against the flood, as if it's only a matter of seconds before it all gives way into a surging wall of sound fueled by hulking, crunching guitars that twitch with an implacable human pulse. Every chord feels fraught, every note balanced on the verge of frustration and release.
The track embodies the dread of watching your best years slip by, of feeling suspended in time while life barrels forward. But there's also something perversely revitalizing about it. groan room not only articulates the anxiety, they claim it, enveloping it in a feedback and making it sound cool. It's that tension, between calm and calamitous, distance and desire,
that makes "if you think it's cool" such a breathless listen.
Connect with groan room on Instagram