Exclusive Track Premiere: ‘I Want My Knife Back,’ Yellow Red Sparks

PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK GONZALES

Southern California-based band Yellow Red Sparks emerged as a trio fronted by Joshua Hanson in 2012 with their debut A Play to End All Plays and has been touring since. Following very few releases and a series of lineup changes, the band is now back as a duo consisting of Hanson and Sara Lynn Nishikawa, and we’re pleased to announce the New Fangs Old Pangs EP (out October 16) and premiere the first single, “I Want My Knife Back.” The EP is filled with Yellow Red Sparks’ original folk instrumentation and catchy melodies, but with this release Hanson took a less is more approach.

“I love words and I love melodies,” the singer/songwriter tells us. “The main goal of any song that I write is that it’s honest and real for me. The best way to describe the process is sort of an emotional vomiting.”

On “I Want My Knife Back,” aside from chorus line oohs and ahhs, Hanson sings “I need a knife in my back / Just to help me relax / And a thorn in my side / So that I can abide / And I mean what I say / When I say I don’t mean it,” atop rhythmic guitar, slight tambourine, punctual keys, and Nishikawa’s standing bass.

“The song’s main inspiration was feeling more adjusted with things that are uncomfortable,” Hanson continues. “Also, maybe the need to have discomfort in your life to feel a sense of motivation and drive.”

NEW FANGS OLD PANGS WILL BE RELEASED OCOTBER 16. FOR MORE ON YELLOW RED SPARKS, VISIT THE DUO’S SOUNDCLOUD.