Vote for Rebounder: The New York City Rock Band That’s Soon to Be Your Newest Favorite
With a new album set for release in September, Dylan Chenfeld talks about his inspirations and what makes Rebounder a band on the rise.
A lot can be covered in a 30-minute interview, especially for two chatty people like myself and Dylan Chenfeld, the writer, producer and singer for New York City rock band Rebounder. The band also consists of bassist and singer Noah Chenfeld, Dylan’s brother, guitarist and singer Zack Kantor and drummer Cobey Arne. In our interview, we covered everything from the band’s new music, to Japanese Star Wars posters to creating in the digital age.
PHOTO BY PHOENIX JOHNSON
“Sunset Vision,” the latest release from the band, has a nostalgic, summer sound that's easy and sweet. Described by Chenfeld as, “a fun combination of surf rock and ‘90s hip hop,” “Sunset Vision” opens to slow, melodic guitar plucks matched with high energy “oh-oh-ohs.” The combination of the two solidifies the beach-rock sound that carries throughout.
The first verse sets up someone seeking a fresh start, but disappointed to find that escaping a physical setting or your appearance can’t improve your state of mind permanently, it's just a quick fix.
“I hitched a ride, I got myself a new name
Bought some new clothes,
Got dressed and still felt the same”
Chimes and synthed keyboard notes greet the first verse, leading listeners into bridge, then quickly through to the chorus:
“Watch the world in sunset vision
Beauty, there's no end in sight
Magic hour every second
Even when it's black and white”
Hard moments or strong emotions can only be fixed by an effort to change your mindset. Seeing the world through “sunset vision” means taking every moment and looking at it with perspective and positivity.
I have no idea if it's possible either, but Rebounder says so. That makes it true, right?
The band’s EP Sundress Songs is set to release on Sept. 6, and I asked Chenfeld how this mix compares to those that came before. He said that, actually, the origin of all the work Rebounder puts out is generally the same. Dylan and his brother Noah work on a lot of their projects together in a variety of different settings. The first EP Subway Songs is literally a bedroom-pop album, spawning from humble beginnings in Dylan’s twin-bed bearing, childhood room. The latest record saw an upgrade in equipment, most of it being recorded in the duo’s basement studio in Brooklyn and put together in Los Angeles.
“This album is a touchpoint of what we’re up to now,” he said.
Chenfeld spoke about the band's collaboration with Adam Thein, the producer of Djo (Joe Keery’s pseudonym music project).
“Working with people you respect and admire is a great thing. We work with each other [bandmates] and really only a few key, select people. It's very personal experience, making music, so bringing in people we don’t really know is difficult,” he said.
The most listened to song by Rebounder on Spotify is “Japanese Posters,” boasting almost 25 million streams. If you hear it once, you’ll quickly understand why. The track hooks you immediately with a catchy guitar riff that quickly picks up a backbeat. The first lines are lustful, simple, setting the tone for the rest of the song.
“I don’t know what to say,
but I know it’s about you,
don’t look up from the sidewalk,
you’ll turn my heart straight to blue”
I asked Chenfeld what his inspiration for this song was, and he said it spawned from his experience as a 20-something in the East Village of New York City, my own former stomping grounds. He described the girls he was after as beautiful, out-of-his-league and always waiting in line to get into what looked like the coolest club on the block.
The bridge of the song puts it perfectly,
“She’ll take her coffee with milk and your tears,
And then she’ll hit the road and,
You’ll find her,
sitting in the back of the bar with a cigarette on her lip,
Talking to the ex frontman of her favorite band she ain’t heard yet”
Chenfeld builds the image of his subject with a balanced mix of clear imagery and detailed scenes that allow listeners to create her chaotic and lively character. The image of coffee with milk and tears is one of my favorites. It’s playful and creative, but also demonstrates the type of person the narrator is dealing with. The description of her in the back of the bar illuminates her cool-girl energy, in layman's terms.
Something that I find myself pondering about up-and-coming artists is if they had a feeling their hit song was going to be a hit before it was released. So, I asked Chenfeld that very question about “Japanese Posters.”
“I definitely didn’t think it was going to blow up, and if I had, I would’ve changed the title,” he said, stating that naming the song “Japanese Posters” doesn’t necessarily have the best SEO, given the song has nothing to do with them.
Chenfeld explained the title exists as it does because, at first, the track was only an instrumental, and he needed something to name it.
“At the time, my roommate was really into Japanese posters and art, and hung them all over our living room. I looked up, saw the poster, and just named it that, telling myself I would go back and change it once the song was recorded, but, clearly, I never did.”
Chenfeld said he would only be naming songs based on their lyrics to avoid confusion going forward.
To wrap up the interview, I asked Chenfeld what the hardest part of his music creation process was. He explained that in the modern age of digital music creation, it’s hard for musicians to create a truly unique sound.
“We're at a point in recorded music where there's been so much production that there's fewer stones to uncover,” he said.
When writing the new EP, it was a goal for Chenfeld to avoid a generic sound and instead head for uncharted territories, combining genres that seem to be unlikely pairings, such as the surf rock and ‘90s hip hop inspiration found in “Sunset Vision.”
