Photo by Lauren Redmond / Words by Willa Rudolph
Hipsy Gap, a Brooklyn-based 5-piece alternative rock band, released a new song today, March 1st. Well, “Shellshocked” isn’t quite new to Hipsy Gap fans, as it has become their crowd-pleasing closing song at their live shows. The earworm intro riff is so fun, and the honey-smooth vocals grow and spread into layers, oozing around the charging bass line.
Hipsy Gap is a Brooklyn-born indie/alt-rock band formed by Daniel Walsh (guitar) and Makenzie Correll (vocals) with later additions, Benjamin Thomas (drums), Paul Ortega (bass), and Eduardo Palacios (guitar).
“Shellshocked” is a refreshingly long song at 5:24, never losing intensity or allowing you to slip out of its grasp. The song creates an ornate landscape, building three almost orchestral sections that come together to form the dynamic track in its entirety. Produced by Daniel (goes by Dan), who believes “one of the worst pitfalls in artistry in general is striving for perfection,” “Shellshocked” is an incredible achievement by a band that is entirely “guided by a DIY mindset.” Dan adds, “Shoutout to Jake Cheriff, our recording engineer for this song, and our four previous)!”
Hipsy Gap’s press release called the track an “ambitious fan-favorite,” and I have to say, I couldn’t think of a better word than ambitious to describe it! Makenzie Correll (vocals) tells The Deli, “Shellshocked is the perfect song for the coming of Spring because it represents new beginnings. Your life and everything in it seems to be crumbling around you, which is a sentiment that many carry in the winter-time as seasonal depression becomes more and more common nowadays. In contrast, Spring signifies the rebirth of the world around us. Spring is the light at the end of the tunnel of wintery darkness. The unusual song structure in Shellshocked is inching closer and closer to catharsis, and by the end we’re there.”
“Shellshocked” is early 2000’s but also employs a 90’s indie rock sensibility, it’s indie but it’s pop-y, it’s Sheryl Crow but it’s Mitski, and it changes speed, building up so much anticipation and tension before it finally comes crashing down, mid-song. It reminds me of the Gossip Girl soundtrack, which is literally a HUGE compliment coming from me- have you ever listened?? The music supervising (done by Alexandra Patsavas) in that show is legendary. Don’t turn your nose up at it. It makes sense, since Hipsy Gap cites their inspirations as a wide range of artists including Paramore, Slowdive, and The Cranberries (Slowdive is the only artist of these three that I don’t believe is in Gossip Girl). But that’s neither here nor there. The 5-piece puts an emphasis on merging genres and evoking nostalgia, creating an addictive blend of pop and DIY 90’s rock.
We asked Dan (guitar) why “Shellshocked” became the band’s trademark closing song, and he explains, “At risk of sounding pretentious, the song is so grand and ambitious that it really just doesn’t make sense to put it anywhere else in the set. It’s also a catharsis of a song. The ending drop is just a huge, giant exhale. We want to leave people with that feeling of calm–the feeling of a huge tension having finally been released. One time we played the song second to last, and then we played a different song after, just to try something new. A stranger came up to me after the set and essentially was like, ‘Why the fuck did you play another song after that??’ So yeah, we’ll probably never do that again unless we write a more epic closer.” Fair ‘nuf.
At the top of the song, Makenzie’s soaring vocals begin, “Run from a burning building / With fire scathing from behind / Deep in the unknown ocean / I found a place we can reside / Leave it all behind / Beside your bedside table / There is a door yet to be found / Gold has rusted out / From the time it took to get here and now” – According to the lead singer, this represents the beginning of winter, recognizing the darkness coming. But the “door yet to be found” is the light at the end of the tunnel, the new beginning that is Spring. The tune continues, “Ceilings falling inward / Walls are caving in / Waters overflowing / Seeping through my skin / Waves crash through my window / Banging on the door / Drowning in illusion / Sinking through the floor,” representing that feeling of being in the thick of it in the dead of winter.
Some of us may know this feeling as “seasonal depression” or “seasonal affective disorder.” As the lyrics guide you through this pain, the ending brings you to a feeling of bliss as Makenzie sings towards the end, “You’re not alone / Always, forever I’ll hold your hand / I’ll hold your hand.” It’s “almost like it’s the warmth of the sun letting you know everything is going to be just fine,” Makenzie tells The Deli.
Dan continues to describe the untraditional structure of the track: “I was listening to a lot of post-rock when I wrote the music for ‘Shellshocked.’ I’m no authority on the genre, but I know a lot of post-rock songs tend to shirk traditional songwriting structure in favor of more formless structures that don’t necessarily make sense on first listen. The songs that I write for Hipsy, I bring to the band in the form of a basic demo, and then everyone really runs with it.
Like for example, Ben on drums and Paul on bass really emphasized the crazy rhythm in the middle part, which makes it sound like a different section all together. But the chords are actually quite similar to the first section, and it’s not that different when you listen closely. When I wrote the tempo switch and the chords for the final section, that was when I realized I had something really cool.
The last section makes the first two make sense. It brings a dramatic shift to the whole thesis of the song, and it gave Makenzie the opportunity to sing the most blissful, epic, yet trauma-stricken verse about feeling like the world is crumbling around us all but facing it bravely together with the people we love. And Eduardo’s lead line sounds like a siren signaling the world is finally coming to an end.”
Fun fact: The band’s name comes from some unremarkable road named “Hipsie Gap” in Paul’s hometown in Pennsylvania that happens to have some sinister lore about it (read more here). Look out for more from Hipsy Gap – they’re definitely one to watch! *Links*