With their newest album recently out, Omaha-based indie rockers, Criteria are having a very strong comeback, and they’re justifying it with equally powerful singles which keep piling up, all parts of the long overdue, Years. The album is issued through 15 Passenger, the label owned by Cursive, the band of which Criteria’s main man, Stephen Pederson, was once a member.
Pederson explains about the band’s latest single: "We Pretend touches on the theme of being an immigrant or being in a wartorn country walking through landmines and this idea that there are millions of people living under circumstances I can’t even fathom and still finding joy and happiness in it. It’s just sort of this idea that you’ve got to break away from all that stuff before it kills you. Hence the line ‘break away before you break me down.’”
Politically charged, We Pretend, cites influence from nineties post hardcore band Quicksand, while sounding utterly topical, and maintaining Criteria’s authenticity.
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