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Jan 06, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Dog Trainer

NYC duo Dog Trainer has released their newest single, “Dumb Paranoia,” premiering with Under the Radar. Created entirely under lockdown, Scrolling to feel better…part one, the band’s latest album, is a quarantine album through and through. Nick Broman and Lucas del Calvo worked online, sending beats back and forth from Broman’s NYC apartment and the basement of del Cavo’s Vermont Airbnb. The result weaves together indie and pop influences for an authentic distillation of all Broman’s and del Cavo’s influences: the pop heights and EDM influences of Charli XCX, the emotive and unvarnished vocal performances of Porches, and the swaggering attitude of SWMRS.

Much like the band’s previous single, “2019,” “Dumb Paranoia” is an eminently relatable reflection on Gen Z dissatisfaction and anxiety. Diving into late-night loneliness, existential dread, and fear of the oncoming future, the duo keenly hits on the constant worries that plague the young and dissafected. The accompanying lo-fi acoustic strum runs beneath glistening synths, easily bringing together the worlds of indie rock and pop glitz. The band’s pop instincts are obviously strong, but the duo also brings a refreshing DIY touch with the self-produced instrumental and the song’s stark acoustic base. Meanwhile, the lyrical anxieties snowball, getting ever more imposing before the band finally sighs, “I just want to fall asleep.” The lyric hangs for a few seconds, a beautifully simple expression of all of the band’s frustrations.

The band says of the song, “This song explores all the ‘dumb’ paranoid thoughts that keep us up at night (Am I gonna hate this tattoo when I’m 45 applying for a job I never wanted in the suburb where I grew up?) and the way those thoughts can snowball (Does my family think I’m lazy, that I’m wasting my whole twenties? Did I spend way too much money on that weekend down in Florida?). It was one of the earlier songs we wrote for the album, and was sort of a breakthrough for us in terms of the level of detail we were able to put in the lyrics. We realized the opportunity we had to share what we were really going through on this release.” Check out the song and video below and watch for Scrolling to feel better…part one, out March 26.