Single Review:  Blue Nevada – “How Do You Feel”

“How Do You Feel” might be a new song and not quite a celebrated classic in the alternative rock lexicon as of this moment, but this season it’s getting a wonderful presentation from an act as devoted to masterful melodies as the influences behind this track’s construction were. BlueNevada takes on a legendary tone in the form of their latest single, and rather than simply playing out a standard formula much as their contemporaries would, they give the song an upgraded backend to sweeten the sonic eruption. They’re committed to shaking some hips and getting the summer started right, and in my opinion, they did an ace job with this stone-cold indie jam.

The first thing that I noticed about this single right out of the box was its fantastic percussive element. Big and brawny right from the start, the drums rain down on us with a relentlessness that I haven’t heard out of a mainstream rock song in years. Although it’s not outright metallic, the texture on the string instruments here is unbelievably harsh in comparison to the vocals, becoming palatable only through the evenhanded equalization in the mix. There are a lot of ways to structure a track like this one, but I think BlueNevada was smart to go with a familiar technique.

Both the electric guitar parts as well as the foundational bass in this single are supremely buff and undeniably vicious, but I wouldn’t say they ever reach the point of sounding overindulgent. BlueNevada is pretty good about avoiding the negative aspects that come with creating something larger than life, and in “How Do You Feel,” they show a lot of promise as an arranger. It’s hard making a song like this one sound like an original when it’s wearing so many of its influences on its sleeve, but they make it look pretty simple just the same.

There’s a lot more of a pop-style rock tone to “How Do You Feel” than similar performances I’ve heard before now (and specifically in the last few months of following the American underground), but that’s what I expected to find when I heard BlueNevada was recording this composition as their next single. You can’t get away from the retro-esque groove in this track, nor the chills that it produces when the volume is turned up loud enough. Whether you’re a fan of rock n’ roll music or not, you don’t have to question checking out this track before the season has expired – if you’re into riff-happy rhythms, it’s almost guaranteed to hit the spot.

I’ve never been much for throwback songs, no matter who the artist performing them, but BlueNevada’s “How Do You Feel” is a single that any pop/rock enthusiast would be crazy to miss out on this month. There’s a lot of interesting independent music coming to the surface in the United States right now, but I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like the burgeoning movement among alternative artists. I don’t know that BlueNevada belongs in their puritan group, but if one thing is for sure, it is that their latest single feels like the revolution’s battle cry in more ways than one.

Amanda Beeler