At least culturally, summertime is the season of youthful freedom and reckless abandon.
But it can also make you feel pretty dang old.
Macseal’s new single, “Golden Harbor” seems like it was designed to trigger those susceptible to summertime nostalgia. It looks back with a pang on days spent sitting on suburban curbs and friends’ couches, free from obligation or responsibility. The band, which has continued to grow in popularity after releasing their debut full-length Super Enthusiast in 2019, is clearly pining for a time when the pressure was off and the stakes were impossibly low: in the second verse, when no one comes to one of their shows, they shrug it off and “treat it like practice.”
“Golden Harbor” is also a prime example of the heartfelt, emo-tinged indie rock that Macseal does best. The melody is catchy and straightforward, the lyrics are quotable (“it felt so great to feel so lost”), and the production is sun-soaked and unfussed. It reminds me of some of oso oso’s best work, another emo rock revivalist whose breakout album “Basking in the Glow” cashes in on a similar brand of nostalgia.
Macseal’s sophomore album, Permanent Repeat, comes out in July, and if the rest of the album hits half as hard as “Golden Harbor,” I think we should be in for a treat.
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