The Rallies - It Must Be Love (2023)

Tacoma’s favourite sons are a back with a teaser single from a whole new album that will be coming in the new year. For me, it can’t come soon enough. The Rallies burst on the indie music scene with their strong debut album Serve in 2017 and followed that up with the terrific Upside Down two years later. Their main strength was in combining memorable tunes with some straightforward, just slightly Americana-meets-jangle playing. A quick listen to their new song suggests album number three is going to be just as good. “Must Be Love” establishes itself quickly with the band’s signature rhythm guitar hooks and uplifting harmony vocals, adorned with jangling lead guitar runs in all the right places. The tune sounds deceptively simple but the genius is the band’s careful arrangement of all the elements. You can hear a bit of Wilco here, some late solo John Lennon, and a host of those 1980s jangle bands.

What makes The Rallies so special? Sure, other bands have got jangle. And there’s plenty of new tunes coming out all the time. But The Rallies play with a unique kind of heart. There’s some distinctive alchemy that goes on in their songs that set them apart.