Photo by Kelsey Wagner
SHYBABY returns with another massive, hyperkinetic wall of noise blending fast and furious punk with sticky-sweet bubblegum pop sensibilities on absolutely frenetic new single, “For Rent.”
Unrelenting in its delivery of maximum power riffs and skittering trashcan percussion, “For Rent” feels teleported straight from the era of MySpace Top 8s and Handycam shenanigans into today’s always-on inundation of information and sensations. It’s the musical manifestation of a pink Motorola Razr, scuffed and cracked and packed full of numbers and texts from dealers and hookups, flagrantly loud and spectacularly reliable, chugging along eternally on half a charge. The track is incessantly propelled with a manic, breakneck energy, getting under the skin to electrify synapses in a firework display of nervous vivaciousness before crashing headlong into a crunchy electroclash breakdown that recalls early DFA1979 at their absolute filthiest. This is the kind of music that indie sleaze wet dreams are made of, an underground ripper possessed of enough unbridled animal magnetism to make Joe Exotic blush and just one burned CD-r mix away from exploding into a viral blogcore megahit complete with dancefloor banging remixes by every DJ from A-Trak to Z-Trip.
True their nature, SHYBABY masterfully balances deeply confessional songwriting against the impenetrable cacophony, rendering thoughts and emotions typically saved for the most intimate pages of a personal diary unabashedly scrawled in bold Sharpie on the sweaty backside of a rock club bathroom stall. “For Rent” is no exception, taking to task shitty dudes for their intentionally callous treatment of romantic partners. Treating people like weekend crashpads scored in a shady Craigslist back corner is nothing new, but touting your emotional unavailability as a selling point is a new low for a particularly despicable kind of social bottom feeders typically reserved for the most corrupt of rent-gouging landlords preying on the virtues of proximity to the action to extort the most precious of resources from the romantically unhoused. This is where SHYBABY steps in, hot and ready to fill the temporary void advertised to anyone willing, or desperate enough, to sign on the dotted line. The thing is, SHYBABY is playing the game, too, outfoxing self-absorbed narcissists at their own sport; “I know you’re trouble boy – I’m in for trouble now” gets flipped back and coated in sass like slap across the face with a beer-soaked velvet glove. They say all’s fair in love and real estate, and SHYBABY is fully pre-approved to break leases and hearts alike.
“For Rent” is streaming now on Spotify. Follow SHYBABY on Instagram.
