Two guitar electric rock with underground panache is always welcome in NYC. Bushwick-based rockers The Britanys present a quirky mix of those attributes via current single “Basketholder" (streaming). By securing producer Gordon Raphael for this track, the band was obviously looking for a similar sonic clarity found in his work with The Strokes nearly 16 years ago. Defined riffs morph from tandem structured second guitar chord progressions to chugging counter polyrhythms. Vocals are delivered in feel that appear to echo Lou Reed’s street lingo sensibility with Julian Casablancas’ early sonic effects. While lyrics lack cohesive storytelling and are seemingly unrelated ideas strung together, perhaps that’s the intended point. “Well I’ll be your basketholder – if you’ll be my girl” speaks to something more universally relatable than a simple literal statement. Incorporated within the three minute length are a number of catchy hooks that establish urgency through staccato drum patterns and double-time emphasis. The lyric “but I can’t take it much longer, this running around the city all day” leads up to the tracks ultimate structural peak, where music and words come together with emotional force. The band play a headline show at Baby’s All Right on April 20. – Dave Cromwell
