THE BOBBY LEES NEVER GIVES UP WITH GUTSY NEW SINGLE ‘NAPOLEON’
Reviving the punk movement one song at a time, The Bobby Lees have catapulted onto the scene once again with their latest single "Napoleon." Frontwoman Sam Quartin uses her voice to deliver the lyrics in the same way they were written: with harsh honesty. Emphasized by Mackey Bowman’s strong, vital drum beats, Kendall Wind’s unflinching bassline, and Nick Casa’s punchy guitar, “Napoleon” thrashes forward with a certain edge-of-your-seat momentum. It’s a track that shoves you into the mosh pit of reality with no remorse.
An utterly-bold first release after being signed to Epitaph Records, the band’s hard-earned confidence over the years is absolutely infused in every instrumental and gritty vocal within the track. This confidence has been building since The Bobby Lees came together in 2017, with the band now having released three albums, each more assertive than the last. The Woodstock trio has proven their growth and evolution, and their fiery new single is an exploding manifestation of this.
Graphic by Lydia Wojcieszak (Crave Music Magazine)
At its center, “Napoleon” portrays a sparking duality between a raging crashout and a revitalizing resolution. The Bobby Lees gather up all of the emotions that build up when life pushes back harder than expected, but instead of drowning in them, they choose to find a way to float through them. Quartin sings this with a brazen frankness that makes the wrong people uncomfortable, and the right people empowered. The listener immediately gets a taste of this with the opening lyrics: “It’s hard to believe in yourself when the thought / It’s just not / It’s not natural for me.” This bitter truth, laced with Quartin’s charming New York accent, is a relatably vulnerable welcome to the song.
The instrumental choices reflect someone who is bruised, but ready to keep swinging. The subtle, almost whispery hits of the cymbal in the verses are an urging contrast to the deep bangs of the bass. It reels the listener in hit by hit, only to completely envelope them in the shameless, fiery punk atmosphere of the chorus when the drums kick up. The Bobby Lees manage to capture the sweaty, underground energy of a grunge gig in a polished way that proves each of the members’ talents.
When Quartin spits out the final lyric, “When this is what I am here for / And that is all that I know,” the myth of perfection is a thing of the past, and the glow of one’s own purpose flows through the listeners’ veins. This final moment of clarity is what makes the song so memorable, it’s a not-so-pretty realization that self-belief isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.
No one is going to hold your hand through this track, and that’s exactly why you should listen to it. It’s a wake-up call for people who may be stuck in the cycle of complaining instead of correcting. With their encouragingly raw new single, “Napoleon,” The Bobby Lees dare you to scream your truth and to knock over whatever hurdles have been blocking your path.
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