A haunting deluge of disillusionment, isolation, longing, and desire, LA Parties’ invigorating self-titled debut single “LA Parties” captures the often-ignored impact of social media on today’s youth.
Stream: “LA Parties” – LA Parties
It may sound like you’re about to be bludgeoned by a sped-up version of “Where Is My Mind,” but LA Parties’ debut single is far from a Pixies’ classic. Rather, the clean-cut alt-rock track transforms the four-note sequence into its own hypnotic calling card: A simple, yet haunting deluge of disillusionment, isolation, longing, and desire, LA Parties’ invigorating self-titled debut single “LA Parties” captures the often-ignored, hidden impact of social media on today’s youth.
At the LA Parties and
I don’t wanna sleep tonight
At the LA Parties and
I don’t wanna dream tonight
Is this it?
Is it everything you hoped it would be?
Is she it?
Is she the one you’re gonna marry?
I fell in love with the romance on my TV and
I wore a glove over my hand
so no one could see that
I am only human, just like you!
I fell in love with a girl
Here’s to all the ‘Instagram life’ phonies out there.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “LA Parties,” the debut single from Andy Gorel’s new musical project LA Parties, and the lead single off his forthcoming four-track debut Romance EP (via Gorel’s own independent publishing company, LAPARTIESWORLD). A dynamic, tight pop/rock song (he likens it to “All-American Rejects meets beabadoobee”), “LA Parties” mixes undeniable Pixies influences with the youthful energy of acts like GROUPLOVE or early The Maine. Gorel proudly calls it a “post-emo alternative anthem that is exuberantly youthful and chaotic.” Loud guitars and shouting vocals aside, what resonates most about LA Parties is the aching emotion Gorel pulls out of the song’s lyrics.
“It’s a song about looking at the ‘Instagram life’ – what we see on TV and social media – and discerning it as fake,” Gorel tells Atwood Magazine. “It was written amidst chaos I was enduring during a very difficult and depressed period of my life. I had just turned 20 years old, and had mangled my hand in an accident that I thought would leave me to never play music again. I struggled greatly with how this visual world we live in would see me, and the prospect of not being able to pursue my greatest passion, music.”
“It’s a gander at dismantling instagram culture; ‘I fell in love with the romance on my TV,’ and shattering barriers, both socially and spiritually, ‘I am only human just like you.'”
At the LA Parties I’ll have a vodka fizz tonight
At the LA Parties I think I’ll give her a kiss tonight
Is that it?
Or do you wanna hold her hand?
Don’t give in
Just become a grain of sand
You’re not the same no
I fell in love with the romance on my TV and
I wore a glove over my hand so no one could see that
I am only human, just like you!
I fell in love with a world
The hope and lust for a dazzling, unattainable nightlife experience brushes up against sincere memories made with close friends in the “LA Parties” lyric video, which almost acts like a home video featuring friends and loved ones, day and night scenes, instruments, random Los Angeles traffic, and more. It’s relatable, because it’s real. As Gorel sings about the strain of finding one’s “scene,” we see a litany of happy and smiling faces pass us by. He’s already found his people; they’re all around him. Letting go of that nonexistent LA Parties fantasy is all it takes to live your LA Parties dream.
Perhaps that’s the lesson to be learned from “LA Parties” the song, and the overall mission/message of LA Parties the band. At 23 years old, Andy Gorel’s career is only just beginning, but he’s putting his best foot forward with “alternative rock tailor-made for the 2020s.”
“There are no gimmicks; no falsehoods. LA Parties is an open diary, pages lined with teenage entries of chaos, vulnerability, depression, and sex,” he says. “It’s a dose of real in a sensationalist Instagram society where tik tokkers and tens comprise the ruling class. It’s the indoor makeout scene while it pours outside; the beautiful girl who isn’t on social media; the sextape where the cap never left the lens. In a bizarre postmodern kind of way, where “alternative” has been heavily gentrified, it’s almost punk. I hope it’s refreshing for people to hear real, pop-sensible, rock music.”
Gorel clearly believes in himself, and if this debut is any sign, then we can believe in him, too. After flying through a visceral pool of overdriven guitars and soaring rock riffs, LA Parties leaves us with a glimmer of hope in his song’s final moments. It’s the kind of reckoning after the storm that suggests a hint of growth, maturity, acceptance, and maybe – just maybe – a little peace of mind. “I fell in love with a girl, and I think she loves me too.”
At the LA Parties I’ll be an open book tonight
At the LA Parties I think I’ll have a smoke tonight
I fell in love with the romance on my TV and
I’ll do some drugs, drown on dry land so you pricks can see that
I am only human just like you!
I fell in love with a girl
And I think she loves me too
Stream LA Parties’ eponymous debut exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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? © @andygorel art © Gene Blevins
