• News

• All

Jul 26, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Danny Denial

Earlier this year Seattle-based indie pop outfit Warren Dunes shared their debut full-length record, Get Well Soon. With relentlessly uplifting melodies, infectious tropicalia-tinged instrumentation, and invariably welcoming energy, the band crafted a self-described “Hallmark Card” for everyone who has struggled their way through 2020. Now the band is once again back, sharing the video for one of the album’s highlights, “Be Good,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Be Good” instantly stands out with its chilled jazz groove, lithe melodies, and fiery guitar work, but beneath the track’s effortless energy lies more weighty concerns. The band questions why oppressed people are constantly told to quiet their calls for equity, to make them friendly and appealing to the seats of power, and to “be good.” “Why would you be good to someone who’s bad to you/To somebody whose job it is to be good to you?” the band asks. These questions are made even more explicit with the new accompanying video, which matches the band’s calls for redistribution and equity with the faces of those who have lost their lives to police violence.

The band explains, “The chorus for ‘Be Good’ was written when Julia was thinking about ‘the talk’ that countless Black American parents have with their children about how to stay safe in the world. It then evolved into a focus on real solutions. It’s about equity, it’s about police reform, and it’s about reparations.

The song started out with a super slow tempo, until Jared asked Dom to try it out at twice the speed. It felt right. The band knew it better reflected the urgency of the message.

Our filmmaker, Jeff Larson, had the idea to use outlines of Julia dancing alongside images of the victims of police violence. Everyone’s interpretation will be different, but we hope it appeals to our common humanity and helps keep the focus on change for good.”

Check out the song and video below. Get Well Soon is out now.