Coming in hot from Long Beach, California, the rocking and dynamic band The Overrides release their sophomore and conceptual EP entitled 'Attention.'
The Overrides are best known for the sound described as The Clash, and The Ramones meet Fugazi and 90s alternative. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Cam Mosavian, drummer Parker PJ Johnston, Brandon Mosavian on bass, Guitarist Denzil Dunn and Josh Roush on guitar, The Overrides are truly carving a unique path in the independent music scene.
Doing so with their latest EP, 'Attention,' the record opens with the introductory and title track, "Attention," which genuinely grabs our attention right off the bat. As The Overrides begin to crash through our speakers with their upbeat and blazing instrumentals, they perfectly set the tone for the rest of the record while leaving us excited for what's to come. As lead vocalist Mosavian makes his low, powerful, ad raspy vocal appearance, he begins to sing a troubling message of wondering why someone tries so hard to get his undivided attention, which never seems to work. We love the energy of this intro track, as it perfectly paves the way for the other three tracks to follow.
Onto track number two, "Shout," the track opens with rhythmic and exhilarating electric guitar riffs. To be blunt, we thought we were about to hear Rocky Horror's Riff Raff explain, "It's astounding, time is fleeting," but instead, The Overrides jump into their heavy and blistering rock instrumentals that take off into the celestials. As Mosavian begins to explain how anxiety continues to riddle him while churning his stomach and twisting it in knots, the band makes their way over to the hook, where they encourage us to unleash the beast and shout our worries away. We love the power of the passion of this song; it makes for the perfect anger management aid.
Passing the EP's halfway point with track number three, "Part Two," this track opens with a solid electric guitar riff that quickly jumps into The Overrides' scorching hot breakdowns. We love the soul and rhythm that this track has to offer; it's like a lengthy interlude but better. As The Overrides continue their striking, melodic, and dynamic instrumental journey, they sonically hit us in all the right places while blasting through with nothing but poise and composure. This instrumental is jam-packed with rich transition and overwhelming anticipation that leaves us wondering where the band will take us next.
Landing on the EP's outro and the fourth track, "Observant Servant," this track kicks off with tight guitar and bass licks that pound through our speakers with the utmost rhythm alongside the punchy and crisp drum breaks. As Mosavian makes his filtered and energetic vocal appearance, he begins to sing the tale of an observant servant named Adam, who strives to rebel now that he's gathered all the knowledge and power he needs to flee from his monotonous day-to-day. We love the song's powerful transition on the hook, especially around the outro, as The Overrides close the record on this exciting and cathartic note with their compelling lyricism and gripping instrumentals.
Do yourself a favor and douse yourself in the flames of The Overrides' latest EP, 'Attention,' now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic The Overrides, and congratulations on releasing your powerful and thought-provoking sophomore EP, 'Attention.' What inspired your band to create this conceptual project?
As a band, we never want to get stuck writing songs or records that all sound the same. Life evolves, and so does music, so we wanted to draw a parallel between the two on this record. There is a noticeable evolution from our first record, "Brain as a Fist EP" and the "Attention EP," and each song on this record - as the record plays, each song slowly evolves from one another. Each song is conceptually the same but very different in its unique way.
Could you enlighten us on what message or concept you wanted to get across to listeners in the EP, 'Attention?' What did you want your audience to take away?
The EP lyrical themes deal heavily with day-to-day struggles in life and trying to better yourself in between it all. It's a very emotional EP, and we wanted the music to match the lyrical themes perfectly. The beginning of the record describes a person just starting to notice all the bullshit around themself, and the end of the record describes that same person beginning to figure out the best way to deal with the bullsh*t while being the best person they can be. It's a constant struggle, and trying to find the balance is very real and very hard.
Who wrote the lyrics within the EP 'Attention?' Was this a shared process? How does your band's songwriting process usually go?
Cam wrote the lyrics and the music for this record. Some of the songs were complete when he brought them in, like Part Two and Shout. Attention and Observant Servant were mostly finished, but the band fleshed out the structure and harmonies together.
What was your band's creative process behind the scenes for 'Attention?' How did each member add to the experience?
On this record, it was a conceptual process from the start. Cam had long had three songs that we called The Trifecta, which were Observant Servant, Shout, and Part Two. Shout originally was the first song. Attention was written more recently, and we debated putting it first on the record because originally, it was supposed to be last. The cool thing about this album is that each song can be played in any order while still feeling like a cohesive conceptual body of work as a whole. But in the end, we felt that Attention was the strongest song on the EP, so we wanted a strong start from the get-go.
How does the EP 'Attention' contrast your 2019 EP 'Brain As a Fist?' How are these projects different?
On 'Brain as a Fist,' we wanted our first EP to be like a "here's who we are" type of record, but on this record, we wanted a follow up- "but wait, there's more" type of record. It had always been the band's goal to start out a little stripped down and raw, and over time introduce our more intricate or complicated songs. We have a lot of genre-bending ideas for songs, but we wanted the band's sound to evolve in a steady way so as to not sound jarring or take people off guard. That process takes time because of the amount of time it takes to record, mix and master a record, which we do ourselves.