Say That Again first caught my attention in the spring of 2023 with the release of their single, “Julian.” I was almost caught off guard by the quality of it. As I listened to their new album in the winter of 2024, sitting at a table across from a friend, I must have said, “Wow, this is actually really good,” at least three or four times.
The absolute rawness of the songs on their latest album titled “Get Over It” must be the best and most surprising element. You can tell they’re playing real instruments. It’s all too common to listen to an indie band and wonder if the artists have some sort of bias against drummers or a phobia of picking up a guitar and playing it or if they recently invested in an autotune boot camp and want to get their money’s worth.
None of those possibilities seem plausible while listening to these songs. Each musical element blends naturally in a way that no one part overpowers another. At the same time, each part is solid enough to be heard. This is a constant throughout all of their songs, keeping the sound consistent without being obnoxiously repetitive.
Starting with the first song on the album, “Inside Out,” almost every song begins with an upbeat guitar riff that sets the rhythm for the rest of the song. The tempo gradually picks up with a satisfying build-up into the chorus and slows down with a laid-back bridge supported by backing vocals before jumping right back into the energetic rock sound.
“Hang Tight” is my favorite song on the album. It sounds like something straight out of an indie teen coming-of-age movie, or like something you’d hear in one of those cool hipster coffee shops where the baristas treat you like an old friend. The lyrics are about falling in love (although, much like the moral of an indie coming-of-age movie, I’m not sure if I interpreted it correctly), and the tune itself emulates that vibe perfectly with another upbeat guitar riff on top of the rhythm guitar and a smoothly simplistic bassline with a quick and steady drum beat that ties it together.
