Review: tri patterns’ Double Single “Kids” / “Grow” Is a Buoyant Indie Pop Light in the Dark

tri patterns 2020
tri patterns 2020
Nashville duo tri patterns’ buoyant new songs “Kids” & “Grow” dazzle and delight; their inspiring, bright indie pop is ready to light our days and warm up our nights.
for fans of Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, Smallpool, Bad Suns, COIN
Stream: “Kids” / “Grow” – tri patterns




We’re just kids, and we’ll always be around…

It’s dark times like these that help remind us not only of music’s special place in our lives, but also of the uplifting warmth of an upbeat song. Music can be so many things for us – an escape; inspiration; a refuge; a helping hand – and in the case of Nashville’s tri patterns, their new songs are all that and more: Out now, the buoyant “Kids” and “Grow” dazzle and delight with inspiring, bright indie pop hues ready to light our days and warm up our nights.

Come float into the leaves with me
Close your eyes and let the moment relieve
All the weight we’re holding on the ground
We’re just kids and we’ll always be around
Won’t someone just breath in
The big kids won’t see this
We’ve got something to believe in
And we’ll always be around
Into your eyes
Two more times
"Kids" / "Grow" - tri patterns
“Kids” / “Grow” – tri patterns

Independently released May 15, the double-single “Kids” and “Grow” marks the 2020 return of Nashville, Tennessee band tri patterns. Originally hailing from Indianapolis, the  duo of Dawson Freeman and Nathan Davis introduced their music to the world just over two years ago with 2018’s debut single “Shadows,” a compelling groove lit by an unseen, but very tangible fire. Inspired by the likes of Vampire Weekend, Hippo Campus and The Strokes, tri patterns’ music has maintained a welcoming, melodically warm, and sonically immersive character throughout their still-burgeoning, yet very active past two years: 2018’s debut EP showcases those catchy beachy sounds whose sheer effervescence alone seems to light up whatever room you’re in.

Fast-forward to 2020, and tri patterns have held onto that magic while clearly developing their lyrical and musical voices. “Kids” has the limitless shine of early Mowgli’s, with jumpy guitars and intimate vocals making a safe space for us to let go and drown our ears in goodness.

“‘Kids’ is a song that has been a long time in the making,” the band tell Atwood Magazine. “The guitar harmony riff of the intro and hook was written somewhere around 2015, while we were in high school and just beginning to write songs together, before the band was even formed. During a writing session last year, we revisited the riff and the whole song was generally written in that evening. The title both reflects that time period when the song began while also exploring what it really means to grow up, in a sense a coming of age song. Every instrument and lyric has been structured to reflect that energy and life found in keeping your youth throughout life, which for us looks like weightless feeling of jumping into a pile of leaves and simply taking time to feel the beauty of breathing despite the pressure to forget playfulness of life as you get older.”



tri patterns
tri patterns

In contrast to “Kids,” “Grow” indulges us with a deeper sense of vulnerability and personal perspective. The song’s lyrical reflection and achingly sweet vocal performance elevate the track, while pulsating guitars and driving drums keep everything moving forward, together as one. It’s exciting – a space to breath and moment to step away from ourselves, to sit by ourselves and contemplate these strange, strange times:

Two plants sit by my windowsill
One’s brown and the other is growing
Why do I feel like both of them at the same time
My mother is reaching out to me
Why would I hold back
I know what I want
But I’m contradicting myself
Grow (I don’t know where
I should be or shouldn’t be going)

“‘Grow’ deals with a similar concept as ‘Kids’, but from a more personal perspective. We tend to be inspired by plants and use the imagery of nature a lot in what we do, and this lyric uses that imagery to reflect on the complexity of growing up,” tri patterns explain. “There are not always clean cut answers to life, which is difficult to learn. Growing looks like experiencing success and failure at the same time, and handling things on your own while still needing help. As we’ve experienced life, we’ve begun to notice that life and death are always not mutually exclusive, and wanted to communicate that even though things can feel aimless at times, it doesn’t limit our ability to keep growing.”

Growing looks like experiencing success and failure at the same time, and handling things on your own while still needing help.

tri patterns 2020
tri patterns 2020



“Even though things can feel aimless at times, it doesn’t limit our ability to keep growing.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves: In this dark period in human history, tri patterns’ two new songs frolic like two luminescent pools of light. It goes beyond the logical, and into the realm of intangible feelings – there’s just something about this band and their music that makes us want to smile.

That should be all the motivation you need to listen to “Kids” and “Grow.” Elevate your day with tri patterns 🙂

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:: stream/purchase tri patterns here ::
Stream: “Kids” / “Grow” – tri patterns







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"Kids" / "Grow" - tri patterns

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