New York's Dares base their spirited sound on tasteful alternative rock influences from the genre's great past, still, they emerge as a very fresh independent voice. The band began recording with Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Hubble, The Men, Pygmy Shrews) in 2015, and released their debut seven-inch vinyl spring of 2017. Their newest single, the recently released, Mercury, is a dynamic rocker which bridges grunge and post punk in a smooth and faultless manner. The song now comes with a beautiful clip that contrasts sharp, colorfully lit scenes of the band performing, with raw, handheld VHS material, and the result is exquisite.
"I wrote Mercury during a mercury retrograde," Alexis Rhode, Dares' newest member and the song's composer, shares about the creative process and inspiration. "There was a lot going on in my life and it really felt like all of these emotions and negativity were oozing out of me. I felt really alone and like I had no friends that understood me, and also like I wasn’t communicating well during this period of time. So I locked myself in a room with a bottle of wine and my guitar and just started writing. It was actually really cathartic. There were periods I would be playing and yelling and then periods where I would literally be rolling around on the ground listening to music really loud. It sounds crazy but it really helped me release all of those emotions. Mercury is definitely about having a fucked up time and feeling drained and alone, but also about awakening. Instead of fighting and being upset about how difficult that time can be, embrace it. You’ll come out stronger on the other end when you give in and try to understand those emotions."
Dares are Mario Santana, Devin O'Daniel, Alden Farrar and Alexis Rhode. The new video, created and filmed by Nick Centore with co-direction and additional handycam footage by Brigitte Gleason, streams for the first time right below.
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