It has been nearly two years since the newcomer band I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (iDKHOW) released its debut EP, “1981 Extended Play,” back in 2018. Made up of singer and previous Panic! At The Disco’s bassist, Dallon Weekes, and the drummer for Falling in Reverse, Ryan Seaman, iDKHOW really turned heads with the alternative scene when its debut EP launched many right back into the 80s. The duo’s debut album on the other hand, “RAZZMATAZZ,” was finally released after being delayed a week on Oct. 23.
Consisting of 12 songs, “RAZZMATAZZ” had a distinct sound that can really only be harnessed by the duo and Weekes distinct voice. As singer-songwriter and vocalist for his previous group, The Brobecks and the primary writer of Panic! At The Disco’s 2011 album, “Vices & Virtues,” his hallmarks range between the use of sleighbells and synth-heavy beats all while calling back on the eerie-edged sounds of the 80s. With songs that sound like they fit perfectly in any “Stranger Things” episode, iDKHOW records a majority of their music from Weekes’ home studio where listeners can here unique little acoustics for each song, sometimes even mistakes that give the songs even more creative perks, which were typically found more so in their first EP.
“RAZZMATAZZ” takes the listener on a journey and sways them between catchy upbeat songs to almost adorable, self-deprecating ballads, to 50s doo-wop tunes, but one of the most surprising songs after a blind listen would have be halfway through the album with “Clusterhug.”
With all that has happened this year, the lack of new music in 2020 had many fans eagerly awaiting the duo’s album. It is also expected to kind of be swept up in an almost surreal analyzation of our modern times without being too jarring, but Weekes deviates from his typical mold by surprising the listener with fairly obvious words “beautiful quarantine” right at the end of “Clusterhug,” even slipping in the phrases within the second verse when saying “Darling you’re a holy quarantine.”
It almost goes to wonder if audiences will ever hear certain words again without thinking of the pandemic and perhaps this is exactly what iDKHOW wants the listener reflect upon in the little quarantine romance they create in this three-minute tune, but they quickly change speeds, allowing one of dismiss it before focusing too heavily on the introspective undertones.
The methods in releasing this album were quite genius as well. Over the past two years, the band had released five of the album’s songs as singles, and rather than cramming them all right in a rough toward the beginning of the album, they’re evenly sprinkled throughout which allows for a sort of comfort. This enables the listener to almost be more receptive to the new songs they’re hearing for the first time since they are bookended by one’s listeners have heard before.
iDKHOW’s “RAZZMATAZZ” covers the likes of being away from family, and more importantly the lead singer’s young children in “Need You Here,” creating a narrative on the stereotypes of new musicians in “Nobody Likes the Opening Band,” as well as just having heartwarming songs like “Door” and “Kiss Goodnight.” Overall, iDKHOW creates a thoroughly beautiful and diverse album that is quite amazingly summarized and cohesively brought together in the last and title track “Razzmatazz.”
Image from I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME via YouTube
