SoCal-based alt-pop quartet The Millennial Club have released their sophomore EP summer nights. The band is comprised of lead singer and songwriter Andres Owens, bassist/keyboardist Jared Ortiz, guitarist/saxophonist Jake Stevenson and drummer Tyler Kamei. While operating in the genre-blending space of indie-pop, ‘90s R&B, and melancholic synth-pop, The Millennial Club continues to push forward their signature sonic ways. However, on this go around, there’s well-defined vulnerability to be found.
Summer nights kicks off with the intro track “i wish i could tell you,” which sets the wistful mood of the EP right off the bat. “like i do” comes off like a lovelorn lullaby with honeyed vocals from Andres Owens along with Jake Stevenson’s irrefutably charming saxophone solo. Previous single “feel the same” displays a new frontier of maturity. The band tackles the sweet yet often taxing complexities of contemporary dating.
“summer nights” was released back in September and serves as the band’s most upbeat song off the six-track EP. Landing somewhere between the vicinity of COIN meets Fickle Friends, “summer nights” captivates with a smooth pop exterior and an interior offering up a deeper intimacy to uncover. “girls that aint u,” which wasn’t a previous single, has the four-piece outfit telling a story about the feelings associated with knowing the other person is “the one.” It’s a delicate endeavor exhaling with the same melancholy that’s often associated with confessing your love to someone. The EP wraps up with the jazzy, saxophone-laden, and tranquilizing “anymore.”
As The Millennial Club take listeners on a reflective and dream sonic voyage, read along below to learn the inspirations and tales behind each track from Andres Owens himself.
“i wish i could tell u”
This little intro sets the mood for the entirety of the EP. It was initially a part of the subsequent song, “like i do”, but we decided to separate the two tracks to make the songs more digestible.
“like i do”
I first wrote the song in 2015, and it’s been a work in progress until this year – which is a true testament to the whole concept in itself of learning to release that honesty into the world, being truthful, and wearing your heart on your sleeve. “like i do” is a pivotal timestamp and authentic snapshot of the moment you build up enough courage to be upfront with a love interest you’ve always had romantic feelings for – someone who’s only ever seen you as a friend – and finally decide to let out your true feelings. The lyrics behind the song reflect the challenges you face after suppressing these romantic feelings for years – to the point where it perhaps was buried and even ignored internally altogether.
“feel the same”
I wrote “feel the same” just before I started dating my girlfriend, Madelyn. The song is an honest depiction of how I felt before I learned that she reciprocated my feelings. I would constantly wonder, “Does she feel the same?” The song is a token to that time of my life when I was constantly wondering, where it was stressful, yet now, I'm incredibly happy. It's meant to be a relatable tribute for both couples and singles, depending on which stage you're at.
“summer nights”
I also wrote “summer nights” in 2015 and distinctly remember being so captivated one day by the visual of a remarkably care-free girl full of happiness, dancing while walking down the street with headphones on. This simple yet stunningly memorable visual ultimately guided the dynamic songwriting process and led to the groovy sonic direction of “summer nights”. Like most TMC tracks, “summer nights” is an encapsulation of my own mind; it was an idea I felt really strongly about. The authenticity of being powerless to your emotions; telling someone how you really feel about them. I didn’t really know what I was writing when I set out, but over time, the concept made more and more sense to me that I was, in a way, communicating with my future self about the headspace I was currently sitting in; one of wonderment, questioning, longing, introspect ion, and hoping. “summer nights” has a fun pop exterior, but just below the surface lied my true emotions of being a young kid hoping that somebody might love me.
“girls that ain’t u”
I think TMC will always have two sides to our music: the more “chill, easy-going, Southern California pop” side, and then the “way more jazz-influenced, hip-hop-esque, R&B” side. “girls that ain’t u” definitely falls into the latter category. There is an absurdly visceral element to R&B that makes you scrunch your face and think, “Damn, that was slick” when you hear a certain chord progression or lick. Some things in the genre can’t help but sound very tasty (I know that sounds weird, but bear with me). That’s kinda how I felt while writing “girls that ain’t u". I had the chorus progression and melody written within minutes and instantly had the “Oh damn, this is pretty smooth” feeling. This song was by far one of my favorite tunes I’ve written to date. Definitely listen until the very end of the song, including the outro – you won’t regret it.
“anymore”
As with most of our music and the incessantly restless nature of finishing a song, it feels like our work as a band is never completely “finished”. After we finished writing “girls that ain’t u”, we decided to add a section following the song that embodied a more ambient, more abstract, and less structured representation of the song that eventually became the outro and final track on the EP titled “anymore”.
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