With catchy earworms and lyrical hooks for days, Avantide sports a tried-and-true indie sound with their debut album, Keep Running.
The origins of Avantide trace back to 2014 at Bismarck State College in North Dakota, where Adam Maragos and Daniel Pretzer met. Both were regulars at Rhythm Records, often sifting through albums like Tame Impala, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and other iconic groups together. Sharing common musical interests, the two would soon get the wheels in motion for creating their own sound.
Their latest record is proceeded by two singles, each of them being snappy, feel-good indie rock songs that serve as a strong hook for the rest of the album.
“Take it Slow” — the album’s lead single — serves as the record’s opener, and offers an easy-going pop-rock tune about the struggle to find the right words. The band keeps things steady, with a constant rhythm that lets the song relax in the lyricism and lead vocal melodies. Towards the end, after the line “if you want we can take it slow,” the song itself slows down with only the drums remaining. It’s a clever little touch to give the song a proper and notable ending.
The album’s second track, “Doesn’t Matter,” is the most addictive song on the entire LP.
The song’s rolling waves of guitar are easy to catch and ride all the way to the song’s end. The vocals do the very same thing, employing slow, drawn-out melodies that are both catchy and sonically satisfying. The song is reminiscent of jangle-pop from the nineties, finding itself cultivating a similar and instantly-accessible sound.
Towards the middle of the album is “Sleep it Off,” the band’s June 2024 single. Beginning with some overlapping ambient passages and some peppy guitar melodies, the song is more gentle than your average rock tune. Pushing this further is the song’s hook, and it overall has a very relaxing quality to it, resting in the harmony between a bed of acoustic guitar and the vocals.
The album takes a surprising turn on the sixth track, “To the Moon.”
While it seems the record largely focuses on the nuances in relationships, this song has the band rocking a little harder, expressing their desire to be astronauts. It’s a fun, spontaneous mix-up from what the rest of the album has to offer, and it drives the point home by being one of the fastest songs on the LP.
In September, the band hit the road on a twelve-day tour in support of the album around North Dakota and neighboring states. The band has since returned to the studio, and is in the process of developing brand new material.
They’ve gone to the moon and back, so who knows just where Avantide might take flight next.
