Belgium alt-rock band CMON CMON has always been willing to put raw emotion into their riffs, but on "Turn Off The Lights," they've turned the volume and vulnerability up on both, and it turns out to suit them great. With "Turn Off The Lights," CMON CMON has set the gunpowder on what could be a defining chapter. It's unabashed, it's sincere, and most crucially of all, it's undeniably them.
Recorded with the finely tuned ear of notable British producer James Brown, this is an infectious teaser from Spanish-themed upstarts and a foretaste of things to come from their new EP, "Headwind," due for release in March 2025. The band has made waves before, but this track sounds like a high-water mark, the sound of a group that has entirely found its footing and isn't afraid to get emotional.
Its opening also has the air of something familiar to us all. Still, it's a loud, unfiltered power that you've learned to anticipate from CMON CMON; it's apparent that something blacker lurks more deeply beneath the surface. Brown's production gives the band, which was formed in 2014, shape and sheen without sanding away its jagged charm. What results is a cinematic, cathartic anthem that's wistful and alive, very alive.
The chorus takes flight in a controlled chaos you can almost feel it pulling at the corners of some forgotten version of you, urging you to get lost for a minute, or to plumb those depths. In the melody, there's a retro longing, reminiscent of the band's previous single, "All The Other Kids," but it lands with more urgent force and emotional weight here. Like the track's layers, its international journey is complex and divisive, recorded at Trypoul Studio in the Netherlands, mixed in London on Portobello Road, and mastered by Carl Saff in Chicago. It's a border-crossing, world-beating sonic quilt made with intention a gesture toward the band's expanding artistry and a commitment to collectivism.
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