Song of the Day: BNQT - Restart

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “Restart,” by BNQT, from their upcoming album, Volume 1, due April 28th on Dualtone Records.

BNQT - Restart (MP3)With new releases from the likes of The Shins, Broken Social Scene, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and many more, 2017 has been pegged as an "indie-revival" year. It only seems fitting then that 2017 would also provide a new indie supergroup in the form of BNQT (pronounced "banquet"). Self-described as "a poor man’s Traveling Wilburys", BNQT consists of four principle songwriters - Midlake's Eric Pulido, Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, Franz Fredinand’s Alex Kapranos, Travis’ Fran Healy, and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle - backed by Pulido's bandmates - McKenzie Smith, Joey McClellan, and Jesse Chandler. The project has been in the works since 2013, with band members emailing each other and occasionally meeting up at Midlake's Redwood Studios in Denton, TX, between conflicting touring schedules.

Now, four years later, their first release, Volume 1, will see the light of day. The album features two songs written and sung by Bridwell, Kapranos, Healy, Lytle and Pulido each, but if "Restart", today's featured song and album lead, is any indication, Volume 1 will possess a cohesive sound that isn't easily pegged to any one songwriter. The track's rolling, psyche-tinged guitar sets the tone for a fun jaunt of a song that features swagger soaked vocals, a backing organ, and a bravado set of horns. With "Resist," it is clear that BNQT is less of a "revival" than it is the birth of a fresh new sound.

As of yet, BNQT has no announced tour dates, but keep an eye on their website and Facebook page in case that changes. For now, take another listen to Volume 1 through their spacey new single, "Unlikely Force":