“…it’s evolved into a “f*ck you” song in the sense of “I’m chilling, I’m not upset or sad I’m just doing what I want.”
Hailing from Syracuse, New York comes NONEWFRIENDS., a group blending everything from pop, R&B, rock, and soul-full jazz into a crafty combo. On December 6, 2019 they debuted their first single titled “Already Gone.” Now it has over 40,000 streams and garnered them thousands of listeners – your proof that it’s worth a listen.
The 6-piece has created a track where each instrument shines through the mix to immediately make a listener want to groove and dance. Vocalist Elizabeth Stuart soothes your ears with a story of moving on from a past relationship. One where you get over who hurt you to find yourself loving life’s new experiences once again – “just chilling” once again. A funky rhythm carries the song and is accented by keyboard and saxophone lines sitting perfectly in the back of the mix. A few more features I personally loved is the soulful saxophone solo, trading of solo licks by each instrument, and this funky little bass and guitar walk-down riff before each chorus.
The song erupts into a ripping guitar solo about 3/4ths of the way through which melodically navigates the fretboard – not to flashy, but perfectly fitting the song. In all, NONEWFRIENDS. came at us hard with their debut single. This band has no use looking back now, because it’s clear they are “Already Gone.”
Overall Song Rating (out of 5): 4.5/5
Take a listen to “Already Gone” on Spotify here.
For the Punks was lucky enough to get to know NONEWFRIENDS. a little more. See the interview below!
Introduce us to NONEWFRIENDS.! Who’s in the band and how did you all get your start?
Elizabeth: NONEWFRIENDS. consists of six members, myself (Elizabeth Stuart, lead singer), Peter Groppe (guitar), Jackson Siporin (saxophone), Jack Harrington (bass), Scott Greenblatt (keyboard) and Jared Alvarez (percussion) – we’re all music students at Syracuse University. We met during the first week of school, started making music together, and then I came up with the name NONEWFRIENDS. because we literally had no new friends. A few months later, this DIY venue run by upperclassmen at Syracuse was asking for bands to play at their house. Without really having an idea of where this would lead, we decided to commit to putting a group together to play. We honestly really lucked out.
Tell me a little about the process of writing and recording “Already Gone”; and what this song means to the band.
Peter: The songwriting process for “Already Gone” began in November of 2018. Peter wrote the song with the help of Jackson by sending voice memos back and forth to each other over Winter break. It’s not a memento of a person anymore, it’s more of a feeling. The way that Liz sings it is different than I sing it but I like that – it’s not a sad boy song.
Elizabeth: It’s evolved into a “f*ck you” song in the sense of “I’m chilling, I’m not upset or sad I’m just doing what I want.”
What does the future hold for the group? Are there any big plans you wish to share?
Jackson: The EP is our biggest future plan, we’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into it and we’re really excited. We also have a music video for “Already Gone” coming out in a few weeks – that’ll be a good way to express our personalities and really introduce ourselves to people. We’re playing at the Knitting Factory (Brooklyn) in May and booking some more shows on the East Coast. We want to continue building our following here and then branch out.
“Already Gone” is available on all major streaming platforms, so go stream now while we wait for more from NONEWFRIENDS.!
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
