[Editor’s note: In the following premiere feature, Omaha bands Bed Rest and No-Getter review new tracks from each other’s forthcoming EPs. Read on for more. The albums drop this Friday, Dec 2 at a dual release show with The Way Out and Minneapolis-based The Crash Bandits. A portion of door funds will be donated to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. RSVP here.]
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Bed Rest on No-Getter’s “Hail Mary”
For having only a year’s worth of shows under its belt, No Getter has quickly become a staple in the Omaha DIY community. While replicating a sound The Get Up Kids, Cap’n Jazz, and Knapsack once dominated in the ’90s, the band incorporates a heavy dose of their own sadness and depression. When you listen to the new single, “Hail Mary,” you’ll find it perfectly portrays what No Getter represents.
“Hail Mary” is the opening track off of the band’s forthcoming EP entitled Fitting. The song begins with a sample of Frank Reynolds, Danny DeVito’s character in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Once the sample ends the band immediately comes in with high energy and a catchy lead guitar riff provided by lead guitarist Alex Brown that’s sure to stay in your head the rest of the day. Singer/guitarist Jordan Maly immediately wears his emotion on his sleeve, nearly screaming, “sometimes it’s hard to think / when you’re speaking out of both sides of your mouth.”
When the chorus kicks in, you are welcomed with what No Getter does best, jubilant instrumentations paired with haunting lyrics. “This time the penance is heavy / say ten or twenty Hail Marys and count them on your hands / Go back to 750’s, Sundays drunk on cheap whiskey, and brand new plans.” We as humans all have a security blanket of some kind. Whether it be religion, friends, alcohol, etc., we all cope with disaster in our own ways, attempt to pick up the pieces and start over again.
“Hail Mary,” is definitely one of the most powerful songs off of No Getter’s new cassette. Jordan Maly is also one of my favorite songwriters in the Omaha music scene and I can’t wait to see what future holds for the band.
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No-Getter on Bed Rest’s “Milky Way”
In a time where the emo scene’s bands have outweighed positive vibes greatly instead by sad songs with even more bummer overtones, Omaha’s beloved Bed Rest has a new song “Milky Way” (off of their new EP Blood Orange) that takes a step in the opposite direction, and it’s a step more bands within the genre should be taking.
This dreamy ballad, clocking in perfectly at just under 4 minutes, can surely lift your spirits. It offers a new hope to those not having what the song mentions: unconditional love from a significant person in your life. Someone who will encourage you, and support you wholeheartedly. Part of the human condition that we’re all thriving to find. With lines like “breathe life into my lungs” and “seduce me with your evil ways / revive me with your touch”, how wouldn’t you be getting aroused at the idea someone could be singing this or at the very least, be thinking it, and have it be about you?
Colby Sanchez, lead vocalist also on rhythm guitar duty, does a great job offering up such honest, vulnerable lyrics amongst the gazy overlapping guitar tones. The urgency in the chorus is something we should all strive for, suggesting a fantasy we’ve all played out in our heads: to run away with a partner in crime and leave it all behind. Fuck bills, dead-end day jobs, debt, materialistic ideals, holidays focusing on the wrong things, mortgages/rent and worrying about our neighbor more than the lawn. And if we can’t ascend into space, at least we have this song to do so in our heads.
The track also features guest vocals by an awesome person within the Omaha music scene: Sara Bertuldo (See Through Dresses, Millions of Boys, Cat Meryl Booking) to really round out and make a great melody even bigger and more full.
Overall, I give this track a 666/10. Let it remind you to keep your chin up and slow down enough to look at all the beauty and possibility this world has to offer. I mean, winter’s coming too, so maybe it’s just in time.