One Track Mind

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On March 16th, Minneapolis foursome One for the Team released their third full-length, Ghosts, on Afternoon Records. A record brimming with an absorbing sense of magnetism, its songs are stoked by combustible guitar riffs and killer male/female vocal harmonies. For their latest effort, the band took a retro tack, recording much of the album live and all of it to analog tape. Whether you believe that lower fidelity lends the tracks a warmer feeling or not, one listen should make it clear that One for the Team is a phenomenally taut musical unit. Their songs leap out of the speakers with the fierceness matching some of the best work by forebears such as The Like Young, that dog., and Songs from the Black Hole-era Weezer.

“Hard for You” is the second track on Ghosts and begins with a duo of guitars, which are joined shortly thereafter by a thunderous volley of bass and drums. Ian Anderson and Grace Fiddler soon lend their vocals to the verses, which are punchy and lead in nicely to the choruses. Oh, those choruses! With hooks so mighty they would make Joe Frazier blush, “Hard for You” delivers the sort of infectiousness that burrows deep into your brain and refuses to be shaken off. There is a tremendous momentum to the song, too, that hurtles with an unhurried, natural force through the synthesizer solo and the final, muscular chorus. “Hard for You” is filled with the sort of visceral pleasures that make you glad someone had the bright idea of hooking guitars up to amplifiers but also delivers on the thornier proposition of withstanding a gauntlet of repeated listens.