Landing somewhere between The Submarines, We Are Scientists, and Shout Out Louds on what wound up being an important capsule of late-aughts indie rock, Army Navy was one of the lesser-known groups on the Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack. Despite frontman Justin Kennedy’s close ties with Ben Gibbard and a gleeful collaboration with Paul Scheer, the band slowly faded along with most of their N&N contemporaries before unofficially calling it hiatus after 2014’s The Wilderness Inside.
Today the four-piece is returning as a duo, with Kennedy reteaming with guitarist Louie Schultz to produce “Seismic,” which was first ideated when the band reconnected last year with the thought of celebrating ten years of their self-titled debut. “We had such a fun time and we were reminded of the special chemistry we have together, and it felt very exciting again,” notes Kennedy of the reunion. “We started working on new songs when we had the time and found that, with just the two of us as the main core of the band, it freed us up in the studio to try a lot of new things.
Adding Clap Your Hands Say Yeah producer Adam Lasus to the mix, the second taste of recorded material from the newly reuned group (following another single released last year) sounds far less than five years removed from their last output. “‘Seismic’ was one of those songs that felt like it was already written in my mind somewhere and I just had to draw it out,” Kennedy continues. “It’s really not usually like this; songs can be a grueling ordeal at times—writing and rewriting, chipping away at them for ages. But thankfully this one felt like it fell out of me fully formed.”
The band promises more material in 2020—but for now, take a listen to “Seismic” below.
