Sports (Photo by Max Alo)
Dream-pop duo Sports (Cale Chronister + Christian Theriot) share a new single, “Never Know,” from their forthcoming project, Get A Good Look Pt. 1 (due Feb. 12) along with a music video.
It follows lead single, “Baby Baby,” which was featured on SiriusXM Alt Nation’s Advanced Placement, debuted at No. 23 on the NACC Singles Chart, and received extensive editorial support on streaming platforms. While “Baby Baby,” subdued and vulnerable, explores the vicious cycles of codependency, “Never Know” is groove-fueled angst — a swanky embodiment of the highly relatable ‘I can’t do anything right’ attitude. The quirky video depicts a technicolor digital overlay of splattered food, removed piece by piece to reveal Cale and Christian loitering in a liquor store in black and white footage.
Cale said of the track:
“‘Never Know” is a good follow up to ‘Baby Baby’ because it has some of the same energy, but it’s shifted into a feeling of hopelessness and desperation. In the bridge it even sorta references the lyrics in ‘Baby Baby.’ That wasn’t necessarily intentional, but I do remember I wrote both of them in the same week, so it makes sense that the lyrics would have a similar tone. Must’ve been a rough week.
Like any other song, it was a demo that I brought to the band/producer, half-expecting no one to like it, but they did so we continued to work on it together for the next year and a half.
I recorded all the vocals to it at my apartment, which isn’t normally what we do, but Chad (our producer) liked the performance so much we just kept it.”
He added about the video:
“I love the concept, I knew it’d be perfect for ‘Never Know.’ Just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks paired well with the lyrics. The video was fun and easy for me and Christian. Just shopping around in a liquor store and eating ice cream sandwiches. It was the very last thing we did in a weekend where we shot 3 music videos. We were tired and had this finality about ourselves. It felt very good to get so much done.”
Watch the official music video for “Never Know” by Sports on YouTube:
Oklahoma dream-pop outfit Sports have been refining their infectious, funk-laden sound for the better part of a decade. The band’s 2015 debut project, Naked All the Time, and its 2016 follow-up, People Can’t Stop Chillin, have amassed over 100 million streams with the critically-praised singles “You Are the Right One,” “Panama,” “Whatever You Want,” and “Someone You’d Rather Be Dating.” In 2018, Sports released their first full-length album, Everyone’s Invited, a vibrant offering that received acclaim from Pitchfork, Pigeons & Planes, and Ones To Watch in addition to earning plays on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and Spotify’s New Indie Mix playlist.