After serving up “two extremities” from their forthcoming I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven album in February, fusionists the Callous Daoboys have eased off the gas a touch for their latest single, a funkier and poppier offering called “Lemon.”
The new single follows the Daoboys’ double-feature video for “Two-Headed Trout” and “The Demon of Unreality Limping Like a Dog,” and likewise has the group flexing some lightly comedic acting chops.
Per vocalist Carson Pace’s introduction in the clip, the “Lemon” video takes place at the Fifth Annual Fulton County Poker Tournament, and apparently the small crowd aren’t explicitly interested in hearing any Callous cuts.
The band huddle together and mull over which song of theirs has just the right amount of “horny” in it to please the crowd. “We need these people to like us,” Pace posits before the performance of “Lemon,” a song the other Daoboys point out lacks any metalcore-focused screams.
“Some people are going to love this one, some people are going to hate this one, it’s just the reality of things,’ Pace explained of the song in a statement, adding of its central theme, “‘Lemon’ represents every frustration that you’ve ever had with a judgmental lover who wants you to give up on your art. ‘Lemon’ says ‘fuck that, you didn’t love me anyway.’”
“Lemon” indeed features a softer touch than a lot of the Callous Daoboys catalog, and Pace soars through the tune with an especially pop-flavored approach.
The song homes in on clean-driven-but-noisy guitar chords that somewhat speak to the plinkier side of early Mr. Bungle, sans-metal fusion — or maybe it sounds like Maroon 5. Drummer Matthew Hague goes full Clyde Stubblefield with a “Funky Drummer”-like beat, though the production kinda makes it sound like you could slot this one on a Nineties playlist with Seal.
As you’ll see via the player up above, this still does not exactly please the crowd of degenerate card counters, who pelt the band with a barrage of debris.
As previously reported, I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven is out May 16th via MNRK Heavy. An exclusive and limited variant of the double LP — delivered on slabs of “Calf” neon coral, black, and white-colored vinyl — is available for pre-order now in Revolver’s shop.
