Off Road Minivan are gearing up to drop their debut LP this Friday via Tooth & Nail Records, carrying over the grunge- and shoegaze-tinged post-hardcore from their preceding T&N EP to a broader project. According to the band, Swan Dive “touches on the sounds that made [them] want to play in the first place—an alternative rock landscape from early ’00’s emo to grunge influence.”
Well, these influences are in full view on their latest single from the release—“YOU” is nearly just four minutes of heavy breakdown, pivoting from heartfelt verses to its aggressive dream pop chorus shedding the bleak lyrical fare of the genre’s tradition. “‘YOU’ is a simple love song and we wanted to stay away from the gloom,” vocalist Ryan O’Leary shares of the track. “Everyone has that special someone they are either with or ‘the one that got away.’ For us this song is dedicated to everyone’s ‘perfect someone.’”
Along with the new song, the band’s unveiling its official music video, shot in O’Leary’s hometown of Red Hook, New York. “Videographers Kevin Johnson and Zach Mayfield are great friends of mine and drove from Atlanta to come work with us,” he continues. “We hired some local SUNY New Paltz students for our actors and got very lucky. It felt really special to film at all our favorite spots like Blithewood at Bard College, the historic diner of Red Hook, and the rec park I used to play at. Sometimes videos can feel like work, but this was all fun.”
Watch the video below. Swan Dive is out Friday, May 15, via Tooth & Nail—you can pre-order it here.
