The Brooklyn band’s debut single—the first from their forthcoming album—is pure rock ‘n’ roll and the product of long-time collaborators coming home to each other
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When you google “The Thing,” the first result is a 1982 movie about a shape-shifting alien terrorizing the arctic.
Which, to be honest, sounds pretty rad. Already added it to my Netflix queue.
Of course, that isn’t the The Thing I want to listen to or write about (extraterrestrials aren’t my bag, baby), but the idea in some sense feels similar to that of a band—that of an entity with no fixed identity or permanent state that grows and shifts in the world depending on its own ideas and whims. That has the opportunity to move and morph and totally transform over time.
And while, unlike the film’s eponymous antagonist, a group’s goal is typically originality, not imitation or assimilation (unless you’re going the cover-band route, of course), there’s something to this idea of amorphousness… of a being that can adjust and adapt to different circumstances, absorb new ideas and influences, stretch out and snap back, all while maintaining the same spirit.
That brings us to musicians-not-monsters The Thing, a group made up of childhood bandmates who went their separate ways for school—where they each surely met different people, tried on different identities and tried out different lives—and then returned to where they started, reuniting back in their hometown with years’ worth of unique experiences to get back to their bandmates and keep making music with the friends they’ve long known and loved.
The group is likely different than it was years ago—we all are—but if you catch The Thing live (you want to catch them live), that bond is evident and the chemistry is here. And today, with the release of their debut single, I’m stoked to see that the rock ‘n’ roll energy the friend’s generate together onstage totally translates in recorded form too.
From The Thing, this is “Right Where You Need To Be.”
All your life // You waste your time // You wearin’ a frown with your eyes on the ground to see // You’re right where you need to be
Given the movement of the band members (who are now all based in Brooklyn), it’s fitting that the band’s first single is based on this idea of location—whether you take that in the physical or life sense—and one’s feeling of (dis)satisfaction with it. And yesterday, shortly before the single’s midnight release, the band of buds sent over a little intel on the band’s roots, the new track and the debut album to come.
“After playing together for years and going to schools in separate states ranging from coast to coast we all reconvened and headed back home where we started. We recorded an album with the intention of doing things ourselves in a raw and authentic way. We recorded in lead singer Zane Acord’s living room with analog equipment in upstate CT. This is the first song off of the record.”
Catch the band live at their SURPRISE SINGLE-RELEASE SHOW this Monday at Arlene’s Grocery with Mindwipes, Western Skies and Alex Dameron. Grab your tickets here + mark your calendars for upcoming their show at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Mo Lowda & The Humble on November 18th.
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Follow The Thing at @thingthething, add songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the band.