The Inoculated Canaries – ‘Sneakers’

The Inoculated Canaries are a quartet from New York whose latest single, ‘Sneakers’, is a feel good, guitar-led, upbeat alt-rock track that will leave you with a smile on your face, despite the song not having a happy ending.



Speaking about ‘Sneakers’, lead singer Michael Rubin said,
“I don’t know that we had a clear vision for the song from the start.  I woke up at  3 o’clock in the morning and just wrote the melody for the chorus.  We had a huge fight over the outdo of the song, but ended up chopping it out and rewriting it. After we made that first cut the song started to fall in place.  I’d say this is my favorite one to play live, it grooves.”

Making up the rest of the band with Rubin, who also plays guitar, are drummer James Terranova, bassist Dylan Gross, and keyboardist Brian Sweeney; there’s also some awesome horns on this track from Terranova and Sweeney. The various band members grew up listening to some of the greats of music –  Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Thin Lizzy, among others, and this shows through their commitment to their sound and their attitude. Speaking again, Michael said,
“Greatness is sometimes having to stick up your middle finger to authority, convention and even the person in the mirror…Side-Effects may include crying, laughing, a sudden sense of existential dread, and/or hearing loss.”
There’s a strong rock technicality to ‘Sneakers’, echoing Foo Fighters, and even The Beatles. It’s raucous and fun, and the tempo captures you right from the get go. ‘Sneakers’ was produced by Matt Squire, whose work can be heard in tracks by Panic! at the Disco, Ariana Grande, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Demi Lovato, among many others.
The Inoculated Canaries themselves directed the video for ‘Sneakers’, which follows the highs and lows of a relationship that’s happened by chance. We’re privy to a fly’s-eye view  of a brief but intense affair, which starts in the subway, but eventually goes up in flames – literally. Boy meets girl on the platform, and a lovely portrait emerges, starting with the gift of a pair of new sneakers. Slowly however, the ideal of young love passes, and sadly, it happens faster for one, but not the other.
Check out The Inoculated Canaries on their official website.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com