Ears Wide Open: Van William

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Van William
Van William

Singer-songwriter Van Pierszalowski has spent his post-Port O’Brien years building his ’90s-channeling rock outfit WATERS into one of the most fun and celebratory rock bands around, hitting his stride with last year’s sophomore album “What’s Real.” But having gone where his songwriting muse pulled him, Pierszalowski found that his new batch of songs weren’t exactly WATERS’ thing. So meet Van William. This week he released the uber-catchy single “Fourth of July,” again testing the internet’s ability to spell “whoa-oh” and giving fans of bands like Grouplove and the Mowgli’s another big anthem to clap along to. He told The 405, where it premiered: “‘Fourth of July’ is about losing your faith and walking away from all the judgement and restriction that comes with it. It’s about the bittersweet feeling of breaking free even though it comes at the expense of losing so much you’ve held dear.” It just sounds happier than that.

||| Stream: “Fourth of July”