With the end of the school year comes the onslaught of the same 10 summer anthems, playing in a loop on every radio station until the entire country is simultaneously whispering “swag, swag, swag” with Justin Bieber.
For those who need an escape, “Breaking Away,” the debut album by indie-alt rockers Being There, has floated in like a welcome breeze on a summer heat wave, ready to roll (and often rock) its listeners into a long June haze.
The London-based band is fairly young, having just formed at the end of 2010, but it has made its way onto the music scene quickly, already catching attention after touring with Noah & the Whale. If its first album, recorded in two weeks in a studio in Leeds, is any indication, the success has only just begun.
The album begins with “Punch the Clock,” a song with a rocking guitar riff that immediately introduces the band’s ’90s alternative vibe. The prominent guitar, accompanied by a backbeat drum, is a staple sound of the album to varying degrees.
The following song, “Back to the Future,” establishes the album’s breezy feel. Even when the guitar and drums are hitting hard, lead vocalist Sammy Lewis’ voice remains soft, the lilt of his British accent floating along, allowing the listener to coast with him. The combined sound is reminiscent of Weezer in its Blue Album phase, when it was singing about garages and dreams instead of living in Beverly Hills.
“To Allen Ginsberg” is one of the standout tracks. It has a dreamy, sweet vibe that reflects the themes of youth and young love that permeates “Breaking Away.” It sounds like the kind of song that would play during the token makeout scene in a 90s rom-com, with someone staring dreamily into Freddie Prinze Jr.’s eyes in the moonlight, as Lewis croons “this one’s for the lonely.”
“Breaking Away” beautifully and casually captures the nostalgia that comes with looking back at the loves and dreams of our youth. One of the band’s most romantic lyrics ““ “weekends apart feel like forever / we could grow up tied together” (“Back to the Future”) ““ make you wonder how we ever got to “if I was your boyfriend / I’d never let you go.”
The band’s first single, “17,” is the epitome of the album’s theme. It’s the most truly rock-sounding of the songs and features some of the most intricate guitar work on the album, with a sound that is both upbeat and melancholic. The complexity of the music matches that of the lyrics, as Lewis talks both of being “young and free, like when you were 17,” while still reminding the listener that “you can’t feel it anymore,” reflecting the sadness that comes with growing up.
“The Radio” is one of the album’s bubblier tracks, featuring a heavy synthesizer sound that seems more inspired by the ’80s, like something the Brat Pack would listen to, girls’ shoulder pads bumpin’ and guys’ long hair a-flowin’ as “The Breakfast Club” plays behind them.
The album ends with “Up,”easily the hardest-rocking song of the entire album, as if “Being There” wants to make sure you are awake.
The album doesn’t try to make any big conclusions about the nostalgia it brings listeners back to, simply telling the listener to “give up, give up, give up, it’s OK,” reminding us that we have to eventually move on from our youth.
There are some songs that relate more literally to the band’s name and are kind of just there, floating by so fast in their short length that you can’t help but forget them. But most of the tracks easily make themselves known, sporadically waking you up or lulling you to sleep like a summer storm.
Whether listeners want to sit and contemplate their coming-of-age as they graduate, start their first internship or job or merely lie on the sand and relax to Lewis’ breezy vocals, “Breaking Away” promises to be a great summer companion.
Email Konstantinides at akonstantinides@media.ucla.edu.