Gretchen Shae & the Middle Eight’s new single “The Business of Broken Dreams” is a killer driving punk inspired rocknroll song full of high energy and fury. Dual vocals that have plenty of gruff when it’s needed, but keep a nice dynamic as they are more subdued in the parts of the song where that is more effective. Interesting and tasteful double guitar runs throughout keep the listener’s ears peeled to the speaker to hear the nuance and so as not to miss a thing.
The execution of the performance cannot be overlooked, as often bands tend to lose the energy and ferocity of aggressive songs like this if not recorded and/or produced properly. That is not the case here. The production is excellent: crisp, clean, but not too clean, and it captures that live rocknroll feel we all want to hear that hits the listener in the feels but also makes us want to punch holes in the walls.
The band mixes a 90s alternative rock sound with some of the more gruff punk bands like Hot Water Music and maybe a little Red City Radio.
“‘The Business of Broken Dreams’ is about the drive for immortality through music,” Shae says. “As musicians and artists we all strive to leave an imprint on the world; often that drive causes us misfortune. We may lose people along the way because our drive gets the best of us. I wrote the song in the fall of 2020 amidst the pandemic. Not having live venues as an outlet, I found myself in a Keats-ian ferver. I was writing at least a song per week. This song made the final cut because it expressed the frustration I think many of us had after having so many concerts cancelled.”
“The Business of Broken Dreams” is the 3rd single from the band’s upcoming EP. Check the links below to support and for more info.
