It’s hard to believe we’re already coming up on a year since the streets of LA—and most other American cities—were packed with pedestrians for the first time since the pandemic struck. Protesting the police murders of George Floyd and the victims that came before and after caused a necessary stir in Downtown Hollywood as the city’s residents made their voices heard.
Within this setting, Night Beats were recording tracks for their fifth studio album, Outlaw R&B, and among them is the latest pre-album sample being made available to hear today. “‘Ticket’ was recorded in Los Angeles at the height of the riots and chaos in 2020,” the band’s Danny Lee Blackwell shares of the busy, uneasy single blurred out by Night Beats’ signature heavy reverb. “Police sirens, fireworks and gunshots became the soundtrack to everyday life in Hollywood. The main character of ‘Ticket’ is another victim of a twisted fuck with a badge. The first half of the song is from the perspective of the cops but then the lens shifts and eventually the predator becomes the prey.”
The video for the single takes this idea to the next level, featuring skateboarder Dayana Young traversing the eerily quiet city in the aftermath at breakneck speed. “I wanted to capture the essence of ‘Ticket’ in a way that explored the dystopian nature of Los Angeles in 2020,” Blackwell continues. “I love ‘film noir’ from the ’50s and grew up on skate videos of the late ’90s/early 2000s. I wanted to try and combine those two moulds in a ‘skate film noir’ where our character is being chased by an implied danger.”
Watch the video below. Outlaw R&B arrives May 7 via Fuzz Club Records—pre-order it here.
