“Regret about what you did not do is much heavier than about what you did,” wrote Mark Twain. I think many have caught themselves on the thought: “I should have.” I should have called. I should have stayed. I should not have stayed silent. A small “I should have” knows how to get stuck in the head for a long time. The Chicago band The Second Summer, it seems, captured exactly this moment. The name of the band itself-for me personally-reminded me of Indian summer, the sun does not burn, but warms stronger than before. After a bright debut with the album “Undertow” and signing a contract with Hardstop Records, the quartet of musicians returned with the April single “I Should” – an ideal accompaniment for long trips, when the past is muttering something in the back seat and a clean highway stretches ahead.
If you missed the unpolished and at the same time radio-friendly sound of the 90s, then “I Should” is your personal guide to the era of the rise of American college rock. It grabs you immediately-with its straightforwardness and youthful drive. Confident, sharp drums by Tony Holmes set the tempo, while the sharp, ringing guitars of Steve Gatland and Matt Broder outline the boundaries of the genre-a dense, tangible power-pop with a good rock-and-roll “fat.” Steve Gatland (lead vocals, guitar), Matt Broder (guitar, backing vocals), Joe Cancellaro (bass) and Tony Holmes (drums) work like a single, perfectly oiled mechanism. In their interaction there is something of the classic quartet of Alexandre Dumas’ musketeers.
The repeating phrase “I Should” sounds like the famous cry “One for all and all for one!” They are a collective shoulder, musical solidarity, in which each instrument highlights the strengths of its neighbor. Joe Cancellaro’s bass lines cement the structure, turning the song into one continuous, pulsating hook. The Second Summer compress complex reflections on change and resilience into the formula of a three-minute hit. The music conveys duality: the tight rhythm section is responsible for drive and movement into the future, while melodic guitar picking leaves a light trail of nostalgia. This is storytelling for everyone who has ever been stuck in a loop of their own thoughts (“I should have…”, “I ought to have…”) but found the strength to break that circle.
Having released “I Should” as a bright spring teaser, at the end of June the band is heading to the cult Chicago studio Gravity Studios. And this means that the single is only a harbinger of a big, loud summer. “I Should” is made for moments you want to put on repeat. Turn it up, catch the moment of freedom, and remember: it is never too late for a second summer.
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