Kevin Bronson on November 6th, 2020

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Meet the new Warbly Jets, not quite the same as the old Warbly Jets.

In their infancy, the L.A. rockers channeled the music and swagger of Britrock greats such as Primal Scream and Oasis. Warbly Jets’ self-titled debut album from 2017 sounded a lot like a time capsule from the mid-’90s, gritty guitars roaring, very “Alive.” Now they’ve pared back to the original duo, Samuel Shea and Julien O’neill, who founded the band five-plus years after moving to L.A. from New York City.

In the time since their 2019 EP “Propaganda,” the duo have honed their production chops and added some tricks to their bag. Their new single “NASA” brings the party with booming bass, synths and samples (yes, and guitars, too). It’s more reminiscent of another ’90s band from across the pond, Stereo MC’s.

The song speaks to the struggles of being independent artists in economic times that are breaking many, especially with touring at a standstill. “We keep on falling / Like we’re learning to fly,” they sing.

“It’s no secret that nowadays artists, especially independent artists like us, rely almost exclusively on income from live shows to make a living,” Shea says. “For the last eight months we’ve all had to rely on streaming.

“It’s too soon to say who/what will be left standing at the end of all of this. It’s a scary thing to think that while profits for artists from live music are gone until further notice, master recordings are generating more money than ever for record labels. This is really the time for artists to fight for their worth. And when this is over, hopefully that growth is represented on both sides of the table in a way that’s actually fair to artists.”

The COVID-19 lockdown might have an upside, though. “There are also a lot of us who are making our best material right now and can’t wait to get back in it!” O’neill says. “That’s where we feel like we’re at. Anyone with a YouTube channel or TikTok has an outlet for instant notoriety.”

Speaking of YouTube, Warbly Jets name-check Stanley Kubrick and Hype Williams as inspirations for the “NASA” video. Oh to be able to party.

||| Watch: The video for “NASA”

||| Also: Stream the track here

||| Previously: Live at the Echo, “Propaganda,” Warbly Jets’ Made in L.A. Playlist, “Ride,” “4th Coming Bomb,” “The Lowdown,” “Alive”