LA-based and New England-bred indie rock band The Rare Occasions share their much-anticipated sophomore album, Big Whoop. Big Whoop was defined by the intensely DIY nature of the recording process. Almost every aspect of the production was done by the band. The recording sessions were all done in McLaughlin’s living room and spare bedroom, where he also mixed the songs. Luke Imbusch composed the orchestral arrangements, recruiting and then conducting a live string quartet for the recording. The band collectively shares production credits, with each member bringing their own unique contributions to the table. Mastering was done by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden.
On the album, the band says, “So much of this album was born out of struggle which forced us out of our comfort zones and to think beyond our own barriers. After the departure of our guitarist, Peter, we knew we had more to give to the world. This process pushed us to broaden our approach to songwriting, arranging, and production. We had released a couple of preliminary singles and then the pandemic hit which halted everything for months. This forced us to step back again, refine what we had created, and expand our new sound even further.”
Glide is premiering the video for The Rare Occasions’ “Origami” that hoots and hollers with the mix of beat rock, surf, and ’60s squonk reminiscent of The Growlers, Twin Peaks, and Allah-las. The band hones a throwback style that sounds entirely familiar yet noticeably vanguard.
“With many possible interpretations of the song, Chelsea’s take was unique in that it incorporated scenes of clouded consciousness and an overcoming of toxic masculinity. It is a journey, both lyrically and sonically, so naturally we built origami-style paper animal masks to visually reflect the character’s growth from start to finish. Our previous experience of working with Chelsea on the music video for “Stay” made the making of this video really fun and experimental, and it was great having her on board for another project,” says the band about working with the video’s director.
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Great Music!