Photo: Becca Heup
Nashville and Memphis-based alt-pop/rock trio Strange Company releases their new single, “Lois Lane,” a track from the band’s forthcoming debut album, Eyes Wide Open.
Made up of Chris Burris, Aaron “Crash” Robinette, and Andrew Allen, Strange Company’s sound is catchy, blending grooving mainstream pop and aggressive alt-rock surfaces. An ultra-melodic, mid-tempo pop/rock song, “Lois Lane” is a tongue-in-cheek take on the perfect woman, who has her sights set on a friend who is oblivious to her interest.
“‘Lois Lane’ is the song that started it all,” Burris says. “When I first met Crash, he was in Nashville writing and making demos. I had put an ad in Nashville Scene magazine looking to put a band together and got flooded with voicemails. I vividly remember Crash’s message: ‘Hey man, this is Crash. I’ve got the perfect song. I just need the right singer.’ He left a bunch of messages, saying, ‘I’m your guy, you can stop looking.’ Once I called him back, I think an hour later we were working on the vocals for ‘Lois Lane’ and the next day we were at a small studio cutting our first demo. Everybody has felt strongly about it since Day One. It’s a fun song to sing, with great energy. I can’t wait for it to get out in the wild!”
The differences in the band’s musical tastes account for their contagious sound. Burris likes heavy rock; Crash likes bubblegum pop; and Allen leans toward funk-pop. Together, the threesome fashioned a sound that Burris has glibly called “Rob Thomas singing lead for Breaking Benjamin.”
Having performed at Memphis hotspots over the years, including The New Daisy and Hard Rock Café on Beale Street, Strange Company will follow “Lois Lane” with “Satellite Sky,” and then perform their first official gig at Basement East in Nashville, on July 3.
Opening on luminous guitars, “Lois Lane” flows into a deliciously vibrant melody conjuring up suggestions of R.E.M, Goo Goo Dolls, and The Black Crowes, as well as vague tints of Americana-rock. Burris’ mobile vocals, potent and rich, imbue the lyrics with palpable energy on beguiling timbres.
Suffused with a sharp-eyed quality, lively, and oh-so-good, “Lois Lane” hits the sweet spot of alt-pop and rock, making it a sing-along earworm.
