Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Repetition is a form of meditation; finding your rhythm, honing in on patterns, developing muscle memory all amount to the mindfulness and internality that Buddhists strive for.
On “Pretty Boy,” the new track from Hoops bassist Kevin Krauter, you can sense that the repeated guitar riff is a form of nirvana for the musician. It’s effortlessly technical, hypnotic in its metronomy but comforting in its hazy familiarity; the other instruments are both superfluous and vital, cohering into a greater whole that envelops you for its mesmerizing four-minute runtime.
Krauter explains in a statement that he wrote “Pretty Boy” in an attempt to learn “new ways to express feeling through my instrument,” and that the track helped him discover newfound love and confidence in himself. “Tell that pretty boy I wanna / see him dance, dance away,” Krauter sings in hushed tones just before a short instrumental break. When he returns, it’s with a self-assured beam: “Look ahead, say I see me now / Smiling at what used to stress me out.”
“Pretty Boy” sounds like walking meditation feels; the sensation of simultaneous connection and introspection, focusing on your circular movement until you don’t even realize you’ve been listening to the track for hours on end.
Krauter is currently working on a follow-up to last year’s Toss Up for Bayonet Records, and is about to embark on a short tour supporting Soccer Mommy. He says he’ll have more fall dates to announce soon, too. Listen to “Pretty Boy” below, then keep scrolling to see if he’s coming to a town near you.
Kevin Krauter Tour Dates:
July
09 – Asheville, N.C. @ The Grey Eagle
10 – Richmond, Va. @ The Broadberry
12 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
13 – Toronto, Ont. @ The Opera House
15 – Ferndale, Mich. @ The Loving Touch
16 – Columbus, Ohio @ Skully’s Music-Diner