rarish - “get high”
rarish: Sammy Elfanbaum (left) and Brendon Seney (right)
Let’s face it — humans are complicated, emotions are messy, and romance can be difficult to navigate. In the worst of times, the quest for love can leave us feeling neglected or even downright wounded. When Nashville-based indie-pop duo rarish (Sammy Elfanbaum and Brendon Seney) set out to write “get high,” they aimed to capture this sentiment in a serious, yet upbeat way.
“Get high” delivers sobering lyrics about emotional neglect and heartbreak but ramps up the energy until you can’t help but smile and dance, even if your heart aches. Equal parts groovy, exposed and emotional, the 80s-inspired bedroom pop track sums up a lopsided relationship where one person takes a lot more than they give. Like two friends dragging you to the club amid post-breakup woes, the duo acknowledges the gravity of the situation lyrically, while the music gradually builds a sense of forward motion and positivity. The song kicks off with tight guitars, interjected by sparse drum hits and fuzzed-out guitar riffs. All the while, Elfanbaum’s crestfallen vocals tell the story of someone who, in the band’s words, “is always at the beck and call of someone who just drains their emotions.” “You wanted me to get high with no provisions,” he laments in the chorus, “but I didn’t want it that way / but I would pretend for your sake.” It all builds to a groovy and addictive final chorus with 80s-inspired 909 drums and percussion, piano, overdriven synths, layered vocals and distorted guitar leads.
Originally from St. Louis, lead singer Sammy Elfanbaum says music has been constant in his life. “My older brothers were, and still are, my biggest heroes,” he says. “Once I saw them learning drums and guitar, I, of course, wanted to be just like them — so I started playing instruments when I was in first grade.” With the encouragement of his parents, Elfanbaum sang in the Missouri All-State Choir, pored over The Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel records and studied photography at the University of Missouri. There, he became a founding member of Post Sex Nachos — the band that would eventually lead him to move to Nashville in 2022. Seney, from Albany, New York, has been playing in bands ever since he learned the guitar at age eight. Growing up, he explored many sides of the music-making process, picking up more instruments like the piano and drums and studying audio, lighting and video production. He moved to Nashville after college in 2022, which immersed him in an enriching environment and took his obsession with music to the next level. "From working in the production side of the touring industry to going to every show I can when I’m in town, and now collaborating with such wonderful creative minds like Sammy’s, music has truly taken on a life of its own for me,” he says.
Outside of rarish, Seney and Elfanbaum contribute their skills to other projects in and outside the Nashville area. Elfanbaum, a singer, guitarist and songwriter, still serves as frontman for Post Sex Nachos, which collaborated with Kansas City indie-rockers The Greeting Committee in February and will perform at Lollapalooza in August. Seney, a utility musician, producer and audio engineer, produced Annelise Gonzalez’s 2024 single “I Got High” and tours with outlaw-country icon Jackson Dean as a Lighting Director. “Get high,” rarish says, is one of several songs they’ve written this year that blend “pop, R&B, and bedroom vibes into something completely their own” — and they do it in a way that is quirky, emotionally rich, compelling and seriously head-turning. In-person and on stage, the duo is just as captivating as the music they write. “I just wanna make people dance, and feel ... but mostly dance,” Seney jokes. “I hope to write songs that people can really relate to and maybe get something out of,” Elfanbaum says, “and if they dance a little too, that’s okay!”
Listen/share: “get high”
Follow rarish: Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music
