On “A Few More Years,” Some Professional Help dress up prolonged existential dread with woo-hoos and a brand of orchestral indie-pop so quirky that you’d swear Scott [Alexander] graduated from the school of They Might Be Giants.
I like to consume the music I’m listening to from the top down; if the lyrics aren’t strong enough to hook me or the voice doesn’t convey the kind of genuine emotion that can only come from the vulnerability of sharing an experience, it becomes that much more difficult for me to connect with it. I don’t love The Front Bottoms or The Mountain Goats because their respective singers have traditionally beautiful voices, I love those bands because they aren’t afraid to give me a tour of their brain. They’ll proudly take me by the hand and walk me down the hallway that their most personal and intangible memories are kept, locked away, and playing on an endless reel of film, just waiting to be put back on display. That same careful and attentive style of songwriting is the main reason that I fell in love with a quirky Bay-area band called Some Professional Help.
Scott Alexander and his rotating cast of incredibly talented musicians aren’t afraid to dig into the specifics and pay listeners that same respect. “A Few More Years” is a tongue-in-cheek look at how, as a kid, Scott just couldn’t wait to grow up. He would relentlessly tease himself with the could-be’s and what-if’s that made the mystery of adult life seem so tempting and (playfully, somehow) goes on to tackle the idea that this mindset is toxic and often creates a looming sense of dread; no matter how much you have or achieve, this “grass is always greener” mindset doesn’t let-up long enough for you to appreciate what you’ve got. This is all shrouded in woo-hoos and a brand of orchestral indie-pop so quirky that you’d swear Scott graduated from the school of They Might Be Giants, resulting in one of the most sardonic and infectious listens that you’ll have this year.
When asked about the track, mastermind Scott Alexander said: “While some people only seem to relate to this at certain points in their lives, I have never been comfortable with my age. Like, really, never. I don’t think it’s really anyone’s fault but my own that I’ve always felt too young or too old. There is obviously nothing I can do about this other than write a song about it. I suppose in doing so, I came to a slightly better understanding that my problem is mostly with the I expectations I perceive others having of me unfounded and otherwise.”
Listen below.
Some Professional Help is out May 18th.
