In an age of music where classifications are losing their importance on a daily basis, there are a lot of bands melding various styles together. It’s more than just a combination of two with a wide-range of elements being incorporated. An example of this is the song “Don’t Ever Be” from the Providence indie rock act Lastself, which was self-released by the band on December 27. The joint vocals from husband and wife duo of Mike and Piera Leone serve as the anchor while Mike’s skills on guitar and Piera’s skills on the keys counteract the rhythms created by bassist Gary Harrison and drummer Daniel Guedes. It’s a bit psychedelic and a bit atmospheric, but it ultimately conveys an original vibe while being engaging with whoever is listening.

For the recording of the single, the quartet went down to the Railroad Park Recording Company, which is located in the South Coast town of Westport, Massachusetts. There they worked with Kyle Therrien, who made it come to life via his stellar technique and approach.

“When I wrote ‘Don’t Ever Be’, I wanted to create a driving, vibey song that mixed indie guitars with an echoey cathedral choral sound,” Mike, an East Greenwich resident, says about the tune. “We added a shuffle beat set to stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and we arranged the song to continually build to a high point about three quarters of the way through. We’re really happy with how it turned out! Kyle, our producer at Railroad Park Recording Studios, made the process a breeze and we were able to get a lot of layers and overdubs added to the song.”

“Recording at Railroad Park was a total blast,” Piera adds. “It’s one of my favorite songs to sing and harmonize to that Mike has written. Dan actually won a free recording session in a raffle at Askew, so we got the whole day to record and mix for free! As Mike said, we tracked the live instrumentation first, then added vocals and layers of guitar to give it that dreamy vibe. We even did a couple of remote mixes before the final master to get everything just right. The whole process was super chill and easy, Kyle made everything flow really smoothly and he has several cats there too, which helped with the cool and chill vibe.”

Right from the get go, the dual harmonies have an instant impact. Then the instrumentation comes into play to forge a dynamic that gives off a free-flowing aesthetic rather than embracing a hard edge. It’s something you don’t hear with a lot of indie bands these days, especially ones from around Rhode Island. It’s sort of a fusion of surf rock and shoegaze, but there isn’t a barrage of distortion. Instead, the quality comes from how everything within the single coalesces from beginning to end.

To give “Don’t Ever Be” a listen, stream it on the platform of your choice, whether it’s Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music or any of the others that inhabit the internet. To stream it along with making a purchase for your digital music library, log onto lastself.bandcamp.com. It’s one of those songs that has the ability to transform any setting, and to realize that, all folks have to do is plug in and press play.