Gully Boys - Phony (2019)

Equally dazzling in black and white as they are in technicolor, Gully Boys are redefining rock and roll with each spoofy nod to the boy bands that ruled the scene decades ago. Picture a green-toned haze-filled school gym, a red shining green-screen backed dance break, a fuzzy purple chair contemplation bit… any of these ring a bell? From Nivana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” to N’sync*’s “Pop,” to Boyz II Men’s “End of The Road,” no boyband iconography beats the way that Kathy, Natalie, and Nadi reproduce it in “New Song No. 2.” Despite how fantastic the reincarnations are, nothing beats when halfway through the video we see the rockstars as Gully Boys—backed by flowing curtains of a rainbow of colors, there is so much charm in seeing the three-piece claim their own space amongst legends that came before them.

From their upcoming EP, Phony, “New Song No. 2” is a refreshing reminder that rock music is not and has never been dead. It feels equal parts Fleetwood Mac-ish as it does early Title Fight, but it’s something all shiny and new at the same time. Their first album, released in 2018, carried the same promising & buzzing energy that only got cleaner on their split with fellow Minneapolis group Niiice. in June, and now seems to be polished and perfected on Phony. And just for the record, Queen has literally nothing on the iconic tableau of Gully Boys that introduces the video.