40. Single Review of Over and Over by Longwinded

Originally published August 9th, 2024

About the Artist

“Whenever I am about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ and if they would, I do not do that thing.” Dwight Schrute

Human beings have primitively existed for a believed 300,000 years on Eath, which is a flicker of a flame in the 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s theorized existence. In that time, we’ve had philosophers, scientists, and cultural leaders who’ve done and said some pretty incredible things. How is it that, in that span of time, so many reside from one television show? There are so many moments, one might ask, “What exactly is going on in Scranton, Pennsylvania?”

Catherine Gee might be able to speak on that, as she is originally from there. Like King T'Challa, she decided it was time to share the prosperity of her home with the rest of the world and moved to Los Angeles to join with Brian Kelly and Will Patrick Jackson in forming the ever-promising pop punk band, Longwinded. 

Longwinded have not been together very long, but already they are producing a sound that boasts an incredible potential for staying potential. Their debut single, Worth Talking, debuted in May of this year and already has over 3,000 plays on Spotify. They are generating hundreds of monthly listeners and are aligned with their goals of bringing their band to that next level. 

TONIGHT, you can go see Longwinded play at Club Tee Gee in LA at 8pm. It’s a free show AND I understand that attendees have the opportunity of receiving a free friendship bracelet by simply showing up! When I tell you, what I would do for a friendship bracelet designed by the BAND THEMSELVES? People near LA, don’t miss this fantastic opportunity!

About the Song

As slated, Over and Over is a pop punk single by LA-based rock band, Longwinded. Released on August 15th, 2024, it has a runtime of 1 minute and 50 seconds. Short, sweet, and to the point, Over and Over sticks to the traditional values of punk rock, featuring vocals by Gee, guitar from Kelly, and Bass from Jackson. The drums sound as if a live drummer is playing them. If they were programmed, nice work! This sums up the sounds heard in the song. No synth, no tricks, just in-your-face punk rock.

About the Music

Instrumentally, the guitars and and bass are aligned, staying centered in the pocket to accompany the vocal part. Guitars are layered, giving a very full sound to the overall composition. The drums are dynamic enough to make for exciting transitions from verse to pre-chorus, then to chorus.

Vocally, the lead singer showcases a strong performance, sticking to what traditionally makes punk music great. Her performance is strong, her tone is pure. She doesn’t have one single pitch issue. She doesn’t concern the performance with any ornamentation. To change up the performance, there are varying effects introduced to the vocal performance. It also sounds like, in addition to Gee, one or both of the fellows contribute backing vocals. The backing vocals are a little into the mix but still distinguishable.

About the Lyrics

Lyrically, the author is narrating a story of a tense romantic relationship with the narrator that references typical disruptive behavior from the subject the narrator is referencing, as well as past relationships. 

“Can I forget every word you’ve spoken? Without existing how a trust is broken? You are just trying to get under my skin but I would so rather cut out the infection.” This tells me the narrator is dealing with an untrustworthy gaslighter. Already, I feel worried for how the narrator will respond to this treatment. 

The narrator puts our minds at ease in the chorus where she says, “You have no idea the amount of times I’ve heard that line from every guy. Over and over again, you leave me bone dry.” Clearly, the narrator has experience with this behavior and they are reaching the point of exhaustion. It gives hope that she is no longer willing to put up with dysfunctional behavior like this.

Lyrically, the song has the same tone as the music. It is strong, it is emotionally charged, and it is full of energy. There aren’t a lot of lyrics, there is some use of analogy, but mostly, it seems to be a recounted dialog of an argument or fight. It is very punk rock.

Final Thoughts

Longwinded are committed to their genre, exhibiting a more than capable performance to do well there. The sound fits right in with a prime Avril Lavigne or even comparing to the song I reviewed by Menna in July, Didn't Peak in High School.

I’ve said this before, and my opinion is the same in the case of Longwinded. This band is a good, yet typical representation of punk rock. They are not derivative. The genre, as a whole, is. I don’t mean to say there isn’t a market for it, because there definitely is. I think what I am trying to say is that it’s not very easy to experiment with the sound without leaving or evolving from the genre. In other words, a lot of punk rock sounds the same, and music today could be played twenty years ago and vice versa. Country music is very much the same in that regard. This is just an observation as there is not one thing wrong with that.

The important thing is to be good and to be meaningful. A punk audience can sniff a poser out in an instant. Longwinded fit the bill of authenticity, through and through.