San Francisco quartet Picture Atlantic have released their new single Billy Banker, the second single taken from their forthcoming new album, Assouf. The song itself is described by singer/guitarist Nikolaus Bartunek as being “…the satirical archetype for all the young A&R and label reps we’d meet or had met in the past. It’s not so much about one person we’ve met, but rather it represents a lot of young people who want to be these Steve Jobs-type hot shots in the music industry. It’s like I wrote a music industry slasher flick concept script in song form. I can almost imagine a group of young musicians being chased around a lakeside camping spot by a machete-wielding A&R rep with a hockey mask.”
At just less than two minutes, its a fast, rocky (you see what I did there, right?) blast of alt rock, as if the a rocket powered Manic Street Preachers had been blessed with a bit more sun. Throw in some wiry guitar work, splashy cymbals and a killer chorus, and Picture Atlantic are onto something.
The band will celebrate this single’s release at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on August 26th.
