Song of the Day: SW/MM/NG - Some Dreams Come True

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Some Dreams Come True” by SW/MM/NG from the 2014 album Feel Not Bad on Old Flame Records.

SW/MM/NG - Some Dreams Come True (MP3)

SW/MM/NG, the Fayetteville, Arkansas, band self-described as "dad rock, if your dad is into reverby pop songs", is a genuinely sentimental group. The five-piece band got their start in 2011, the same year they put out their self-released, self-titled EP. The group has honed their sound since, signed with Old Flame Records, and have just released their debut album. Their eight song piece, Feel Not Bad (a particularly roundabout way of saying "feel good"), which came out last month, weaves in stronger drums, bass, and a keyboardist to the group's previous two guitars and a drum set. With the album, the band has set out to do dream pop in the least nostalgic, least superficial way possible.

Don't let SW/MM/NG's cool, stylized name and penchant for pop fool you into passively listening to their music. Sure, the album's lead single, "Some Dreams Come True," is a dreamy pop tune made danceable by its fast paced layers of drums and guitar, but it goes beyond winning a spot on your end-of-summer playlist. "Some Dreams Come True" features the charged vocals of Brian Kupillas. The optimistically titled song, which was released in its original recording in 2012, actually has a relatively realistic message. Kupillas, whose voice has surprising range, sings about being lonely in our "silly" and "lovely" world, finding love, and realizing that once in a while, things can work out. Amid jangling guitar riffs, Kupillas' desperate plea, "I don't wanna lose myself to belong here," resonates.

SW/MM/NG just finished up their tour, but you can keep up with them on Facebook and Twitter. Hit the lake in these last moments of summer with SW/MM/NG in their video for "Some Dreams Come True" below: