It's been a little while since we've heard from Lawn, the New Orleans duo of Mac Folger and Rui De Magalhaes. After the release of their 2022 EP Bigger Sprout De Magalhaes moved to Chicago and released a solo album under the name Rui Gabriel. Now, the two members of Lawn are back together, and they're getting ready to head out on a short run of dates with Momma. They've also signed a deal with Exploding In Sound, and they're celebrating that union by sharing a new single.
Lawn's new single "Sports Gun" is a funky, propulsive rocker with a nasty bassline and some incendiary trumpet action. If Cake were a little younger, and if they maybe had some formative experiences at Lightning Bolt shows in warehouses, then they might sound something like this. It's one of the most anthemic indie rock songs I've heard in a good long minute. Here's what Rui De Magalhaes has to say about it:
"Sports Gun is supposed to be written from the point of view of a coach/parental figure who pushes the subject to their absolute limit without regard for them otherwise. It came from a short story I wrote pre-pandemic. The idea was that any trauma -- long or short term notwithstanding -- would only be implied, if that, and that we only get to experience the narrative through a very thin, biased lens. It’s a frail attempt at writing something inspired by Julio Cortazar, but I still thought it fit the drive of the song. It is supposed to be more about the lengths some people go to accomplish something, conflating happiness with ambition, and overall being inept at being content.
I knew that we were going to an actual studio this time around, so we built the song around the idea that it would sound "heavier" for us. We had wanted to record with Greg [Obis] and really loved the sound he was getting from his own music, so we were open to the notion of layering as much noise as we could. The original demo had a slightly different beat, and I sort of rapped the lyrics. Once we got into the studio and everyone started adding their own take, I just went for the yell instead.
Check out "Sports Gun" and Lawn's upcoming tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
9/15 - Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi *
9/16 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Bar *
9/18 - Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Outdoor *
9/19 - Kansas City, MO @ Bottleneck *
9/20 - St Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill *
* with Momma
"Sports Gun" is out now on Exploding In Sound.
