Just Friends are a lot of things at once. Just from listening to the now-three-part EP series JF CREW you can hear how the Bay Area collective combine punk and emo with additional influences ranging from hip-hop to ska on the six original recordings included with these releases (to say nothing of their covers of No Doubt and Toro y Moi tracks and an even brighter take on their own single “Fever”). The name of their project almost feels like a recognition of the fact that they sound less like a proper band and more like a group of friends experimenting in the studio.
With the third volume of the series officially dropping today, the band is also sharing a visual for the track “Sunflower,” which feels a bit like an alternate version of Fountains of Wayne’s “Sink to the Bottom” set free from the shackles of post-grunge lyrical and instrumental weariness and angst (and, further unexpectedly, injected with a rap verse). Paired with sunny acoustic guitars and backing vocals, the video sees the band in a sunflower field performing what are probably TikTok dances, there’s no way of knowing for sure, I’m practically 30 and still fear downloading that app as if it will somehow dramatically alter my genetic makeup.
Anyway, regardless of your age, it’s a cool video and you can watch it below.
