Calpurnia
Greyhound
Royal Mountain / Transgressive
As bad as it feels to say it, there’s just not a lot to say about Calpurnia’s latest single, Greyhound. It comes as the third single from their forthcoming album Scout, out June 15. Famously led by Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard, the band have seen a handful of success since their formation last year. You can’t deny that the track is impressive when you take their youthfulness into account, but that’s isn’t to say it’s a hall pass for the relatively mediocre indie rock they put forth.
Jangly guitars and a clear bass line are the glue that holds the song together, with the occasional piano strum and simple drum beat coming along for the ride too. Wolfhard sings of his journey to Seattle on a Greyhound bus, lamenting what appears to be the loss of a lover who promised to come to his show, but left in a “hunt for bliss”. It’s as lyrically straightforward as it sounds, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it seems as though the track could have benefitted from being a little more cryptic. His vocals have that slightly off-kilter twang that many might have considered average 20 years ago, but has come into vogue ever since.
There’s nothing wrong with this song, but there’s nothing particularly amazing about it either. It feels like something you’ve heard multiple times at YMCA HQ; you can bop your head along to it, but you’re not going to rush out to add it to your Spotify playlist. I can see these kids have a tonne of potential and talent, it just feels as though they need a little more time to find what makes them different and come into their own.
ELOISE PARKS
