The four members of Public Practice—singer Sam York, guitarist Vince McClelland, synth/bassist and vocalist Drew Citron, and drummer/programmer/producer Scott Rosenthal—are no strangers to songwriting. A Brooklyn DIY supergroup of sorts, Public Practice combines members of freshly-dead punk project WALL and local pop band Beverly. Public Practice backs their ambitious songwriting with serious chops, their live shows already pulling them into the sharp foreground of a scene growing all too warm-andfuzzy.
Sam York’s lyrics reflect the city and its contradictions— they are personal, funny, cryptic and surreal, but never truly pessimistic, rotating around an individual’s toxic but symbiotic relationship with perception.
By the end of the short and bitter-sweet 4-song EP, punctuated by Sam York’s sign-off of “no you can’t take it back now,” Public Practice anchors themselves as a new band with wisdom like their influences, bringing songs distinctly fresh as they are familiar. Public Practice will privately change your mind about where guitar music is going. Tired of the familiar? Seeing dots? Wake up!
