Charm and churn become one on Products Band’s “Steady/Sugarless,” a glorious upheaval full of raw energy and feverish indie rock passion.
Stream: “Steady/Sugarless” – Products Band
The song feels as much about standing in awe of a life of possibilities as it is about facing the reality of complex feelings.
“I’m free,” Jo Kellen sings softly at the start of Products Band’s new single, overdriven guitars and heavy bass churning around their tempered voice. “It’s so easy to rub the orange peel on the glass and puke the right words on a brick wall.”
It’s a vivid statement, to be sure, and one loaded with emotion – for no sooner do they finish delivering this line, than the full band erupts in a fiery sonic storm. Charm and churn become one on “Steady/Sugarless,” a glorious upheaval full of raw energy and feverish indie rock passion.
I’m free, it’s so easy
to rub the orange peel on the glass
and puke the right words
on a brick wall
you put the brakes on
you got the cheap seats
baby you want me
you got the cheap seats
baby you want it
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering the Mark Ritsema-directed music video for “Steady/Sugarless,” Products Band’s only single of the year (released in mid-November via Solid Brass Records).
And what a singular statement this song is: Their first single following last year’s sophomore album Some Sudden Weather finds the Minneapolis-based indie rock quintet – comprised of Jo Kellen, Jack Woolsey, Konner Johnson, and Alex Hanson – pouring sonic gasoline on the metaphorical fire and then watching in awe as the whole thing burns magnificently. Guitars roar and soar in dramatic fashion, their searing tones cutting across the airwaves as Kellen spills their soul with cryptic, spirited passion.
“Products Band tackle desire through hook-laden noise pop,” the band tell Atwood Magazine in a statement. “Jo Kellen’s airy vocals soar above thundering low-end and Alex Hanson’s glittering lead guitar to invoke a perfect soundtrack for longing. Deerhoof’s John Dieterich ties the whole thing together with visceral, overdriven production – this single begs to be played loudly on a sunset drive.”
you want to stay
attach and separate
you come around
I wanna drown
gonna drag you down
I come around
you wanna drown
gonna drag us down
Diving deeper, Jo Kellen explains that “Steady/Sugarless” came from a desire to explore the undeniably complex ebbs and flows of life itself in a straightforward, accessible format.
“This song captures us trying to do something simple and evocative,” they tells Atwood Magazine. “When I was writing the bones of this song before bringing it to the band, I relished in how easily the riff came to me and how fun it was to be hypnotized by playing it over and over again. It made me think about how much of my favorite music is about repetition, and how that serves as a meaningful parallel to a lot of our experiences in life.”
“In the lyrics of the song, I sing the phrase ‘attach and separate.’ While the song is superficially about heartbreak, longing, challenges in relationships, this phrase encapsulates what I think is really interesting about the tune – what is it like to encounter something that feels the same to us (another romantic partner, another shift at work, another family obligation) after we’ve been subtly sculpted by the passage of time? How do we change without even noticing?”
“It feels scary – ‘you come around / I wanna drown’ – but it also feels good (we want to play the riff again and again and again and again). We attach and separate, like waves lapping against the shore. I guess, for me, the song feels as much about standing in awe of a life of possibilities as it is about facing the reality of complex feelings.”
In the mark of a great song, we don’t need to know exactly what Kellen is singing about in order to feel all that they’re feeling.
“Steady/Sugarless” is a seductive, combustible rush of energy and emotion channeled into three minutes of volatile ecstasy. It’s catchy, it’s cathartic, it’s loud, and it’s bold – and it’s a perfect one-off statement from one of the Midwest’s brightest rock bands as we head into the end of year.
Stream “Steady/Sugarless” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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Stream: “Steady/Sugarless” – Products Band
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