Indie Rock from Sonic Blume

Hailing from Asbury Park in New Jersey, Sonic Blume is an indie rock outfit featuring of Max Connery on vocals, guitar and synth, Noah Sullivan on guitar and synth and James Waltsack on bass. Formed in 2016, this trio of high school friends discovered their shared passion for 80s-inspired indie music.

Fast forward to today and they’re now all college graduates with an impressive musical track record already under their belt. Influenced by iconic bands like Joy Division, DIIV, The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine, they made their entrance with their eponymous debut EP in 2017, securing The Asbury Park Music Award for Best Young New Artist. Their sophomore EP Beach Karma dropped the following year, earning them extensive radio support.

Penning a deal with Asbury Park’s independent label, Shore Points Records, their debut full-length record We’re Drifting Further Apart, Aren’t We? was released on the imprint in 2021 with their second album All Your Favorite Songs arriving in November last year.

Now they bring us their latest release with the single “Rocky & I” lifted from the record. Following the theme of the album, where each track is linked to a famous film that would be playing on loop while the band worked in the studio, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom provided the background inspiration for “Rocky & I.”

Flowing from the delicate plinks of piano and strums of clean guitar, Max’s lead vocals glide in as the twang of guitars build up the energy. The strike of drums and pulse of bass settle into a laid back groove as the bright melodies float above, dipping the arrangement down before launching into an anthemic chorus of memorable leads.

Bouncing with playful piano notes, the band crafts a stunning indie rock sound in a superb display of their songwriting talent and performance flair. Paired with the single is a music video filmed and edited by Kris Kunachak that captures a Wes Anderson vibe to reflect the recording process. Shot at Long Beach Island, the video cuts picturesque scenes with Max performing the song with an acoustic guitar, providing a cinematic visual offering for the track.

Commenting on the single, the band shares, “Rocky & I was the first song we wrote for this project, and also the first one we recorded. The song is about the feelings of teenage love/lust, salad days and naivety. For me, it’s also about ephemeral euphoria, and for that period of time just completely blocking out and forgetting about everything else in the world. ‘Rocky & I’ has also become one of our favourites to play live. We started playing this song live roughly around a year before we released it, and it immediately became one people seem to really respond positively to. It’s been a fun song to open up sets with to sort of set the tone, and get us and the audience feeling good.”

Watch the music video for Rocky & I below

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