Kevin Bronson on October 1st, 2020

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The only thing missing in the new single from L.A. subversives Magic Bronson is a comma. Because “I Don’t Know Man” is different from “I Don’t Know, Man,” and we don’t know that we should make too big a deal out of it, since, I don’t know, man, it sounds like a party.

The follow-up to “ITILYN,” “I Don’t Know Man” is the latest single from “Sweat,” the fourth full-length from the duo of Matt Lieberman and Michael Nicastro. The album is out Oct. 16.

Magic Bronson have long woven cheeky (or outright acerbic) lyrics — some self-referential, others poison darts of observation — into their danceable, bass-driven electronic rock. The new single has fun with the notion that perhaps not enough people are getting it.

“‘I Don’t Know Man’ came about after we realized we were getting a lot of comments on YouTube and our social media asking why we weren’t bigger yet and saying we needed more recognition,” the duo says. “It got us thinking about what our definition of making it or what success is. I think everyone in a band has a different idea of what that means to them personally. I think for us if we blew up and got really big for a few years it would be cool, but we are also pretty happy with the fact that people listen to us everyday and that our music has an impact on people’s lives …

“The first verse of the song is tongue-in-cheek and deals with the somewhat comical frustration of having to answer that same ‘when are you guys gonna make it’ question over and over again. The second verse changes it up and is about trying to stay relevant in your scene. As for the ‘All the devil’s henchmen, making big plans, sitting round the fire working on their spray tan’ line, that can be interpreted in a few ways. When we wrote it it was more in reference to our current president and the climate of what’s happening in the world. But [it] can also be used to address the music industry as a whole and the frustration of having to pander to what a label or executive might think is the best direction for your band to take. We liked the idea of getting a fake spray tan from sitting in front of a fire and how it’s a metaphor for rich people sitting in a boardroom deciding what’s best for your future without asking your opinion or even caring for that matter.”

That is a man Magic Bronson knows, man.

||| Stream: “I Don’t Know Man”

||| Previously: “ITILYN,” “Tell All Your Friends,” Satellite Nights (2020), Live at the Satellite (2018), “Electrify,” Echo Park Rising (2018), “Knock It Off,” “It’s Happening,” “Magic Bronson” (EP), “Run Run,” “Wildlife,” “Fences” (video and stream), Chinatown Summer Nights (2014), Ears Wide Open