RACING DAYS: SUMMER MOVIE CLUB
Summer Movie Club – Racing Days Release Date: June 3rd, 2022
Track Listing:
1. Summer Movie Club 2. Rearview 3. Horribles Parade 4. Chameleon 5. Buzzkill Bill 6. Jackals 7. Momentary Floods 8. Malt Shoppe Meltdown 9. Friends Come Back 10. Bible Study Hand 11. I Used to Be Your Cowboy 12. The Midnight Bird 13. Post-Credits Scene
Racing Days’ Summer Movie Club is cinematic and catchy indie-synth pop. Quintessential summertime scenery with faint lingers of sadness. A creative and dynamic expression of life’s ups and downs.
Boston-based Racing Days, also known as Brian Engles, created Summer Movie Club to grapple with family loss, dualling identities, the pressure we place on ourselves, and self-acceptance. After the passing of his sister Molly, Engles struggled to find motivation for music. But after he bought a new MIDI keyboard, which had track limitations, a new spark of inspiration was born for Racing Days.
He started to create music again, finding strength in his memories about Molly, who always believed in his music. He hopes Summer Movie Club can comfort those who feel they’ve lost themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lead track off the album, “Summer Movie Club,” slips into deep electro beats and bass. Decals of piano and strings sounds interweaving with Engle’s processed, indie vocals. Engles intended the “Summer Movie Club” to be an idea: a series of films, a popular clique, or an unattainable dream version of yourself. Cool comfort and concern crashes into one another in a narrative that feels both familiar and mysterious: “The buck moon blaze / The morning haze / The cherry stains / The clothesline sway.”
“Rearview” drifts in the periphery with revving reverb. Diverging needs and separation on the vivid horizon. “Just say you'll never let me go one time / And I won't check the rearview my whole life.” Engles’ vocals gliding over light echoing notes and steady percussion. The introspection of a life quickly lived: “I can't even keep up with your photos / Every night you tear up the globe / Nobody better ask what you're running from.”
Racing Days finds a motivation march in “Horribles Parade.” Deep electric guitar rings out like bells, as steely bass hammers in. “Cause when you wake up in a rabbit hole / Going down's only way get through / And even when the music's left you, babe / You gotta find some way to groove.” Callback instrumentals trudge through trenches on the road to inner strength.
“Buzzkill Bill” begins with magnetic intergalactic sounds. Sonic reverb adding an ice-cold tone to grungy sounds. A heavy and haunting foundation balancing the pressures of the world “Buzzkill Bill's slinging free advice again / So we can all end up just like him / I make this music 'cause I can't make friends / I'm bad on paper, I'm ignorant.”
My favourite song off the album, “Jackals” is stark and sinister. Los Angeles scenes highlighted by razor sharp melodies, crisp rap, and hollow drums. Dark experiences occasionally softened by pain and piano. “Big shots they did me bad / A-list abuse a blast / I got an Arclight past / She still owe me for gas / When I was stuck out on Olympic running late for class / 'Cause out here baby all your big dreams they will never last.”
The disappointment of unsuccessful romance roams in “Friends Come Back.” Light, bouncy synths fold into dynamic buzzing bass. Sporadic clapping beats tangle with piano harmonies and runs in the soundscape.
“Bible Study Hand” mixes classical rock strings and cursive vocals. Echoes of electric synths are delicately placed. A wholesome and warm introduction with the charm of innocent meetings and discouraged desires: “And can't we tell the man upstairs / To go out for a break / And can't we see just how this feels / Even for today.”
Understated, wavy synths and bass float through “The Midnight Bird.” Joined by quick, percussive taps, lyrics etch the bitter sting of absence and the fortitude needed to withstand: “You don't have to explain / You don't have to make sense of pain / When the midnight bird sings.”
Racing Days’ Summer Movie Club is fresh, stylish, and sincere. Its earnest and clever lyrics sort through the biggest challenges and contrasts in life. Maintaining healthy focus and friendliness, Racing Days creates a comforting, luminous experience.
Written by: Jenna Keeble
