Check out ‘Dopamine Blues’, the brand new single from the Twin City’s Turn Turn Turn. The band consists of Barb Brynstad (bass and vocals), Savannah Smith (guitar and vocals), and Adam Levy (guitars and vocals) and their delightful three-part harmonies are at the heart of their sound. The classic songwriting and warm melody takes the listener right back to the sounds and vibes at the 1960s and 1970s and this tuneful single, the first from their forthcoming album, is immediate and absorbing. Adam Levy from alt-rock band The Honeydogs has a smooth clear vocal that blends perfectly with Smith and Brynstad’s voices. The single is about trying to get over a relationship ending, which is made more difficult by the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain when thinking of those memories. Dreaming back to how things were makes it harder to move on: “Every time I try to remember bad times // I can depend on you to give me a heartache // And those hazy dopamine blues.” Levy explains: “The song title is a paradox—how can something that makes us feel so good give us the blues? We are constantly trying to get these dopamine hits from the world around us—relationships, social media, games, drugs—we are pleasure magnets and we have trouble just being ok with discomfort. After you get dumped you spend a lot of time in euphoric recall, remembering all the good stuff about your ex when you know you should be forgetting and getting over them. That bittersweet pain is like a blister you can’t stop yourself from poking.”
For the accompanying video, live footage was supplied by Robert Hillstrom and we get to see the band at work displaying their talents. They’re backed by an excellent group of players, including drummer Josh Kaplan and keyboardist Peter J. Sands and there’s also a particularly engaging pedal steel performance. Brynstad says of the video: “The video was shot in August 2022 at Lake Harriet Bandshell, a historic and beloved landmark in Minneapolis. We wanted to capture the joy we feel when we play ‘Dopamine Blues’, one of the band’s favorite songs to perform. It’s a bouncy, fun tune about the paradoxical predicament of feeling good about feeling bad. (Or feeling bad about feeling good?) It’s Turn Turn Turn’s first live performance video, and we hope it serves as an introduction to new audiences and helps bring the song to life.”
‘Dopamine Blues’ is from the Minneapolis / Eau Claire-based trio’s second album ‘New Rays From an Old Sun’, which is due out on 27th January 2023. This is the follow-up to their 2020 debut ‘Can’t Go Back’ and again features a combination of country, rock and soul with a touch of psychedelia. Brynstad says: “When we recorded our first album, we didn’t have a band yet, and made up the parts as we went. Since then, we’ve logged hundreds of hours honing our live performances with Josh and Peter.” Smith adds: “As a band, we’ve spent a lot of time together making music and hanging out, talking about the world and relationships. There’s a little bit of all of us in these songs.”
Since they completed recording the new album, all the band members have experienced significant changes in their lives. However, this hasn’t stopped them. Instead, these changes are already inspiring material for a third album. Smith explains: “I think the best songwriting is about lived experiences, and we all have full, rich lives with ups and downs. We’re all born optimists, and with music, we are in the enviable position of using those ups and downs as fodder for some really great art.” Brynstad continues: “Whatever we end up creating, we draw from the well of great American music. We try to nod to the past while making something that resonates with the present.” Levy adds: “This band continues to evolve. We’re all influencing each other. Why do the same thing twice? I can’t wait for people to hear where we go next.” But all that’s for the future; for now, enjoy this.
