With Winter firmly in the rear-view and the weather thawing out, it’s the time of the year where all of the summer jams come out to play and Steve Sobs‘ “Ugh” is a surefire contender. The Brooklyn based bedroom pop of Eric Littmann finds the pitch perfect balance between breezy springy melodies and the unmistakable forward plod of any halfway decent pop song. “Ugh” is a tune with relatively no sense of urgency; chill and casual in its delivery with a dose of nostalgia for good measure. That’s not just due to Littmann’s memory combing lyrics but “Ugh” recalls in the faintest sense College’s “Real Hero” in theory more than in practice. There’s an instant feeling of timelessness virtually from the get go, as the subtle interplay between acoustic guitar and electronics offer up the bulk of the track’s dynamism. Littman’s vocals are notably understated, draining the emotive resonance out of a tale of old love. Where that might be a point of criticism in any other case, there’s never the feeling like they’re unintentionally lacking and Littmann allows the instrumentals to pick up the slack and deliver a heaping helping of the feels in spite of the distance the vocals suggest.
Steve Sobs’ upcoming full length Heavy Heart is out May 13th on Waaga Records.
