Annapolis-based Kit and the Chardonnay Boys’ new single “If You Got ‘Em” is a plea for anarchy, ordering listeners to search their soul for their most primal, anarchic instinct, or in other words, ‘em’.
Lay your chips down on the table
if you got em if you got em
Don’t make your pills too hard to swallow
if you got em if you got em
Come on baby you too cool to care,
it’s all right there it’s all right there
Imma take you home
Well if you got em if you got em
“If You Got ‘Em” – Kit & The Chardonnay Boys
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/346325072?secret_token=s-uHFnO” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “If You Got ‘Em,” off Kit & The Chardonnay Boys’ upcoming debut album Boys (out 12/8/2017 via Tiny Horns Records). “If You Got ‘Em” is a paradox. It creates a striking juxtaposition between the timid protagonist and the platform of revolt in which she is presented upon. The sultry, vintage riffs slowly draw the subject closer and closer to revolt, encouraging a revolution, a change in the mundane and ordinary, “If You Got ‘Em.”
Go and take me home to papa
if you got em if you got em
Hold him close at home with mama
if you got em if you got em
Kit and the Chardonnay Boys have successfully utilised their undeniable rock sound as a plot device in this leading track. Their infectious riffs lure both the character and listener closer and closer to anarchy. The simple phrase “If You Got ‘Em” is a taunt in itself, insinuating that you probably don’t have ‘it’ in you, that key component in letting your hair down and going against the grain.
This rousing encouragement continues with the repeated mantra, ‘It’s in her soul, It’s in her soul,’ suggesting that they are capable of achieving this freedom if they simply look hard enough. Kit and the Chardonnay Boys’ persistent repetition is yet another crucial device in the execution of the song and its message, once again driving home that strong penchant for chaos and disorder.
Maybe you don’t know,
but we’re all crazy don’t mean maybe
It’s a prodigal son,
that holds to call when they got it all
Baby let it be known yeah
If you got em if you got em
Baby take me home
If you got em if you got em
Beneath the band’s raucous tone is a foundation of sincerity. Says frontman Kit Whitacre, “This tune at the depth of it was inspired by the realization that not everybody appreciates all that they have. When a good friend had a very close relative pass, I realized that I needed to not take my family or friends for granted, and that I think there are a lot of people (myself included) who don’t realize the importance of this.”
It’s in us all, its in us all
It’s in us all, its in us all
“If You Got ‘Em” doesn’t demand we re-evaluate ourselves, but it’s certainly caught up in the moment. “I wrote this to kind of remind myself and others to keep them close if you got ‘em,” Whitaker explains. “It’s still done in a slightly cryptic way, but at the core that’s what this tune is getting at.”
In terms of sound, Kit and the Chardonnay Boys are leading a soundtrack of conviction. The percussion-soaked chorus beats vigorously with every plea of, ‘If You Got ‘Em,’ emphasising the statement. The riff that runs throughout is nothing short of an ear worm, entangling itself with the key message and thus implanting itself in your mind. In this, Kit and the Chardonnay Boys have made an innovative use of sound and musical arrangement as a plot device in the narrative of “If You Got ‘Em.”
“If You Got ‘Em” falls somewhere awkwardly in between a taunting mockery of those who live in fear of anarchy and change, and a simple rock-rebellion track with romantic undertones. Stay tuned for more from Kit & The Chardonnay Boys: Boys, the band’s debut album, is out 12/8/2017 via Tiny Horns Records!
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photo © 2017
:: Kit & The Chardonnay Boys ::
