During the months of quarantine, Arizona pop punk band with EDM chops No Refills, learned how to piece together a song when they were stuck inside. Before they set foot in the studio together post-lockdown, No Refills guitarist and backup vocalist Kris Radtke said, “I remember almost losing it a couple times in the studio until I finally got the right lines under the verses.” The mid-tempo track features acoustic guitar and gang vocal layers.
“Unlike the other tracks, First Step wasn’t finished before going into the studio so we were all kinda on edge,” vocalist Tyler Drosendahl said. “It was stressful but also ended up being the most rewarding song for me. A lot of the last second decisions like to bring in an acoustic guitar, and tossing in different harmonies into the gang vocals in the bridge are what changed what I wanted the song to be, into something way more than I imagined.”
Their record Panic Interlude drops January 1st, 2021 and features synthesizer and pop punk beats. Full of “much needed break-up song, angsty sing-along vocals, and catchy guitar riffs” there is distorted guitar and 808 beats.
“The song ‘First Step’ came about from dealing with and developing physical anxiety, mixed with feeling kind of hopeless at times,” Drosendahl said. “This song is mostly about wanting to feel normal again, while also finding the motivation to wake up and do it all over again. Times are tough, but the moments we share are beautiful.”
