Something about Along With Mine, the new single from I Wish I Was A Punk Band, reminds me of Jack Antonoff and the Bleachers. Sure, it is there in the spacious synths and snappy drum machines, but it is also there in the clear-eyed vocals laid down by Phil Hamilton, whose project I Wish I Was A Punk Band is.
Where this most evokes Antonoff’s band, however, is in the vibes. There is something of the dream-like coming-of-age feeling of John Hughes, shot through a soft gauzy 80s filter, that is shared with much of Antonoff’s work. And, just like Bleachers, this is the sound of the idea of a rock band, disassembled and reassembled, with the benefit of hindsight. It is the sound of garage-y rock with Bruce Springsteen heart, tuned for modern sensibilities.
All of which might sound cynical, but it really doesn’t feel it. Along With Mine has bags of heart, and you can’t help but feel a sense of the hope I Wish I Was A Punk Band are channeling here. It culminates in a desire for more, growing from somewhere inside you, and an unwillingness to settle.
The gutsy feels are there as Hamilton gently promises, ‘Fuck it, we can take it slow… Tell me where you wanna go’, before quietly pleading that place isn’t just home. It is in the shouted BVs, as they chorus the song’s title, and the slammed refrain of notes as the song hits its final chorus, and the general slow-building distortion that the whole thing rides, like growing excitement.
Overall, Hamilton has made something that conjures just a little magic.