Exclusive Premiere: The Breton Sound, ‘Rivers Cuomo’

"Where did you go, Rivers Cuomo?"

That’s the question New Orleans’-based rockers the Breton Sound ask on their single, the aptly titled “Rivers Cuomo.” Today (May 13), Diffuser is ecstatic to debut the new track -- take it for a spin in the audio player below.

There isn’t a deeper meaning to the title of the track; the Breton Sound are big fans of Weezer, and in fact, they performed the Blue Album in its entirety just last month. While the title is straight-forward, frontman Jonathan Pretus does admit that the track’s underlying theme is a little more significant.

“I’d read a study about how the chemicals in our brains stop reacting to new music as we get older,” he explains. “I wondered if that’s what leads to people thinking artists’ later works aren’t as good as their earlier ones. Maybe we’re just not connecting because we can’t physically do it anymore?”

He goes on, “I’d found myself wondering why I was connecting to later Weezer albums. They still make incredibly catchy, fun stuff, and based on what they say in interviews, Rivers seems happier than he’s ever been. It’s kind of a catch-22 for the artist: People seem to latch on when they connect to your unhappiness, and when you finally end up in a good place, they don’t connect and they turn their backs. It must be a strange place to be in as an artist.”

As for the track itself, Pretus tells us they recorded it in Zac Brown’s old studio in Atlanta. “It’s a small room and you play live together, and we really captured a big energy on it,” he says. “It goes a lot of different places, but still seems like it’s on the same plane. I love how it goes from a big arena rock feeling to this cool psychedelic space in the bridge -- it was a really different move for us.”

“Rivers Cuomo” is featured on the Breton Sound’s upcoming EP, Don’t Be Afraid of Rock & Roll Volume 1, set for release on May 19. You can pick up information on the EP, along with the band’s full tour itinerary, at their official website.