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Music

PREMIERE: Remember Your Young, Reckless Self with Junior Prom’s “Cheap Thrills”

The Brooklyn band recall the good ol' days of Williamsburg when rent was still affordable.

For the past decade or so, Brooklyn has been a major importer of cooler-than-thou indie-rock, at its prime unleashing the likes of Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc. What started with gentrification has led to the borough reaching levels of expense that most thought unimaginable in the early and mid-aughts, when artists began accruing in search of affordable rent and the promising creative environment that resembled the East Village and Soho years passed. But the threatening changes and rising rent have not stopped Brooklyn bands like Junior Prom from releasing ear-catching music that embraces celebrating the mistakes and impulsiveness of youth rather than stressing over bills.

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The duo, consisting of Mark Solomich and Erik Ratensperger, first gained attention with its fast paced rock-pop song “Sheila Put Your Knife Down,” which made it to the number one spot on Sirius XM’s Alt Radio. Showing an enjoyable consistency in sound, the group has released their latest single “Cheap Thrills,” a feel good tune with hard-hitting percussion, a sky-high chorus, and sporadic bursts of electro-rock that might summon memories of your own junior prom. You can easily get the gist of the song’s theme by listening, but here’s Solomich’s backstory just in case:

“You do lots of stupid, regrettable downright idiotic things when you're young. At least I have. But I think you kind of have to. Cheap Thrills is painting a picture of the Saturday night/ Sunday morning, "oh fuck, what did I do/say", sinking in the pit of your stomach, feeling. You should feel that way when you're young, at some point. Looking back, maybe we should've called it Cheap Grillz."

Check out Junior Prom on tour. Dates below.
10/17 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s*
10/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent*
10/20 – Vancouver, BC @ Rio Theatre*
10/21 – Portland, OR @Hawthorne Theatre*
10/22 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune*
10/23 – Boise, ID @ The Knitting Factory*
10/25 – Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre**
10/26 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre**
10/28 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room*
10/29 – Minneapolis, MN @First Avenue*
10/31 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre*
11/01 – Cincinnati, OH @Bogart’s*
11/02 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall*
11/04 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues*
11/05 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House*
11/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live!*
11/08 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre*
11/09 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues*
11/11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*
11/12 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza*
11/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory*
11/15 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club*
11/16 – Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre*
11/18 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre*
11/19 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theatre*
11/21 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage*
11/22 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley*
11/24 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s*
11/25 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s*
11/26 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater*
11/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Live*
11/29 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory*
12/4 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Club at Stage AE***

*Supporting Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
** Coral Skies Music Festival
***Headline show