Exclusive Song Premiere: ‘Your Darkest Thoughts Will Shine,’ We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves

WE CAN’T ENJOY OURSELVES. PHOTO COURTESY OF NABIL AZADI

There’s a play with contrasts in all of the music by Brooklyn-based band We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves. Optimistic dance beats underlay vague and dark lyrics that draw comparisons to Morrissey. The band’s lead vocalist, who goes by simply Giovanni, instantly brings to mind the sweet but sad verses of Belle and Sebastian. Giovanni succinctly sums up the band’s sound when he says “dejection and sadness are two are two of my biggest flirts.” We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves’ songs are constantly treading that line between happy melody and horror, creating a modern-day gothic romance. 
 
And there’s plenty chilling about the band’s single “Your Darkest Thoughts Will Shine,” which we’re happy to premiere here. A slow, Beach Boys-like jam opens the track, and Saldarriga’s voice (here with a hint of Beirut) lures you into false security with playful rhymes. Then comes the realization they’re playing on the cliché “heart on a sleeve”—by victimizing and injuring the narrator’s heart. By the time the repeating chorus at the end hits you, you’re a little brokenhearted too.

FOR MORE ON WE CAN’T ENJOY OURSELVES, VISIT THE BAND’S MYSPACE.