By Maia Stern
You may be wondering why “Oooo boy your drive is affecting me, ohh as you’re taking the wheel” is the first lyric you hear Awesome New Republic front man, Michael John Hancock sing out in a sensual, Britney Spears-y undertone. The poppy and perfect-for-jogging-jam “Birthday” was originally written for the debut album from the queen of texting, Gossip Girls‘ Leighton Meester. After comparing the high notes, the boys of ANR knew what they had to do. They took it upon themselves to adopt “Birthday”. It is now their duty to soulfully sing about other dudes and basically transform into the love child of the Scissor Sisters and Justin Timberlake for this dance-worthy track that is now their lead single.
ANR is a 3-piece indie band out of Miami, FL comprised of Michael John Hancock and Brian Robertson with featured touring drummer, Jorge Rubiera. Hancock and Robertson both graduated from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and have been polishing their sound for the past 3 years. They just finished Rational Geographic Volume 1, which is the first in a series of 3 discs to be released this year. The trilogy of 6 song cycles is said to be inspired by the parallels between the Star Wars trilogy and the past 30+ years of American government. Sounds both ambitious and a bit on the nerdy side, but with lyrics like, “This is not a game I play, with just any other guy,” you got to respect the David Bowie/Prince vibe these guys are throwing out there with their high vocal squeals backed with synth rhythm. Not to mention the appropriated guy-on-guy lyrics. hot.
Awesome New Republic – “Birthday”
