The new single from Chicago singer-songwriter Michael McDermott is a typically catchy song that immediately hooks you in with big chords and big choruses. Opening with bright, uplifting guitar, The Best We Get is a driving rock song with restless rhythms, powerful drums and a full sound: layered and immersive. Jangling guitar riffs and McDermott’s characterful voice propel us urgently through this absorbing song.
McDermott told AUK: “The Best We Get is a subject matter I’ve ruminated on a great deal over the last several years. Looking down the barrel of a world in chaos, calamity and uncertainty, how do you navigate it all? When is surrender strength, and when is it apathy? What happens when the dreamer and the pragmatist meet? As the Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote, ‘Only focus on what is in your control.’ It’s easier said than done. If this is the best you get, will you be grateful or aggrieved? Will you feel lucky or cheated? It might be the most important decision you ever make.” Thoughtful words, indeed, and the song will leave you contemplating these big questions for yourself.
The Best We Get is the first single and opening track from McDermott’s forthcoming new album, Flowers From the Graveyard, which is due out on 21st August 2027. This is the highly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed twin-release in 2024 of Lighthouse on the Shore and East Jesus. The former was a quietly introspective record and a total contrast to the latter’s electric bombast. These companion collections reflected the different aspects of McDermott’s character: the personal, reflective side balanced by the powerful, dramatic statement. At the time, McDermott said, “I guess it’s always been a bit of a balancing act, my multiple personalities. One of my personalities grew up listening to early Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Odetta, traditional Irish music, and Tom Waits. The other one was raised on The Stones, The Who, Van Morrison, and U2. My songwriting varies wildly, to sometimes great effect and other times a seemingly incoherent array of songs that never find homes on my albums. This time I thought I’d lean into both, make a quiet record and a loud one.” This time around, McDermott manages to incorporate his different personalities together on one record; emphatic anthems sit alongside the darker, quieter moments of introspection; electric and acoustic songs, forceful proclamations and tender, personal songs are fused into one powerful piece of work. Something to look forward to. While you wait, enjoy the drama of The Best We Get.
