Artist Of The Day: The Bynars

The tension between harmony and dissonance will always fascinate me, which may be why I dig Boston synthpop duo The Bynars so much. At first glance, its catchy, booze-soaked tunes are pleasant enough, but the band brings a slightly unnerving quality to each melody that really gets them to stick. The use of electric guitar, in particular, is memorable: it lurks in the background of each song, splintering under the weight of the hidden tensions that only occasionally bubble up. The willingness to get a bit ugly brings a keen and more-than-welcome sense of danger to the otherwise affable vibe, as if Sleigh Bells crashed a Passion Pit hangout.

The duo reaches giddy/scary heights on its new single, "Never Gonna Die," from its upcoming album X vs. X. The song breezes through its six-minute length, loaded with piercing bursts of guitar static, drunkenly euphoric shouts of "Hey! Hey!" and some tricky rhythmic variations on the title phrase.



You can find The Bynars at its official website and Facebook page. X vs. X is slated for release on September 17, and "Never Gonna Die" is available for pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp.