Pardoner - "Donna Said"

Yesterday, San Francisco’s Pardoner shared “Donna Said,” the lead single from their forthcoming album, Came Down Different. They also announced their signing with one of my favorite labels, Hoboken’s Bar None Records. It’s a fitting match, as “Donna Said” sounds like the product of a late-night jam session between Steven Malkmus, David Berman, and Bob Nastanovich at their shared Mile Square City apartment circa 1991. There’s conflicting information out there as to whether the three lived in Jersey City or Hoboken, with Malkmus himself stating to Rolling Stone in 2018 that he wrote “Summer Babe” while “living in Hoboken or Jersey City.” But hey, they’re neighboring cities, so you get the idea. It’s a cool connecting fiber that’s not lost on this self-proclaimed expert of Maxwell’s/Hoboken music history. 

The quintet definitely exudes a certain slacker rock charm that’s Pavement-esque in nature, and they deliver their lyrics with a Berman-like wit, but they also put their own spin on this classic indie rock sound. “Donna Said'' opens with a monsoon of distortion before drifting into a cleaner sounding first verse that’s marked by a skittish tempo and sneering vocals. And while the verses sound a bit more straight-laced, the choruses are filled with massive, unruly riffs and a whole lotta fuzz, as the band nicely oscillates between chaos and order at various different points throughout the song. Their ability to straddle the line between the two is what makes “Donna Said” quite an intriguing listen.

Stream the track and the cool accompanying video below!

Come Down Different is out on May 14th. Pre-order it via Bandcamp. You can also stream “Donna Said” on Spotify. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.