If shoegaze–as some have defined it–“is, above all else, a place to explore the outer limits of guitar texture,” then The Know definitely reside somewhere in the shoegaze universe. But with their new single “Someday Maybe,” the LA husband-and-wife duo also channel a golden era of nostalgic indie pop.
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In “Someday Maybe”–which premieres below–producer / multi-instrumentalist Daniel Knowles and vocalist Jennifer Farmer remember falling for each other over a decade ago. The track is hazy and hopeful, dreamy and driving. It calls to mind the fuzzy dream pop of two 2011 debut albums in particular: Seapony’s Go With Me and CULTS’ self-titled LP. Like much of the fare on those records, “Someday Maybe” is glinting and textured, full of longing and possibility.
“I’m in love with a someday maybe / It shouldn’t hurt so but it seems like lately / It’s hard to see it going any other way / Amusement parks and late night whiskey / Come on to Shelly’s cos I know you miss me,” Farmer sings in the opening verse over scuzzy guitar and chiming synths. Her voice is soft and radiant as she digs into the first chorus: “As I looked into my someday maybe’s eyes / It’s beyond rhyme or reason That I felt butterflies / As we stood on the street with Nick Cave on repeat / as I looked into my someday maybe’s eyes / I’m in love with this feelin, baby / Got a bad case of the someday maybes.”
Knowles and Farmer initially wrote the song for a TV show spec, but ultimately decided to rework it for their forthcoming debut EP, wearetheknow.
“It was originally a little goofy 50’s thing but I always liked the melody and chord change so we retooled it and used the chords as the basis for this,” Knowles tells American Songwriter of the track. “Lyrically it’s, again, about us. It attempts to describe the feeling we both had in the summer of 2009 when we met–the potential you feel sometimes when you meet someone and something is just starting to grow, you don’t know what it is yet or what it could be but everything feels different.”
“Someday Maybe” is The Know’s third single to date, following “134” and “Hold Me Like You Know Me.” The duo has also released a cover of “Jingle Bell Rock,” which–as far as Christmas covers go–lands somewhere between Cassie Ramone’s doleful “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and Best Coast’s punchy “Little Saint Nick.”
Knowles and Farmer cite Beach House and The Jesus and Mary Chain as inspirations, but a recent Spotify playlist of theirs also includes tracks by Mazzy Star, Say Sue Me, Japanese Breakfast, and Tan Cologne. (Knowles’ previous band, Amusement Parks On Fire, is featured as well.)
Though Knowles and Farmer met in 2009, they didn’t start making music together as The Know until 2018. Knowles–a former live sound engineer who’s worked with the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Phoebe Bridgers–produced, mixed, and mastered the EP himself, and played every instrument. Farmer provided vocals and visuals.
“The EP as a whole is a series of songs that deal in some ways with our lives, our relationship, and personal or shared experiences,” says Farmer.
wearetheknow is out May 18.
