Title: “Drunk In Brooklyn”
Artist: VANDALS
From: TBA (2022)
Release Date: October 15, 2022
Format: Digital Download, Streaming, Airplay, 7” Single. CD Single, Cassette
Recorded: Summer 2022 - Studio60 Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California, USA
Genre: Indie-Pop, Alternative Pop
Length: 4:52
Label: Studio60 Records
Producer(s): Jonas Haaland
Writer(s): Danielle Leone-Wilde, Jonas Haaland

“Drunk in Brooklyn” is a song by American pop duo ‘VANDALS’, consisting of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jonas Haaland and singer-songwriter Danielle Leone-Wilde. It follows the 2021 promo single “Sunday Night Smoke Signals” which served as an introduction to the duo following their signing to ‘Studio60 Records’. The melodic and atmospheric dream-wave influenced instrumentation giving fans an opportunity to understand what to expect from the duo in future releases and the song found itself peaking at number six on the Airplay Charts and receiving some critical praise within the industry. Although it may not have taken the industry by storm it did garner a buzz around the duo and has helped them to establish an intrigued and expectant fanbase, with the track racking up streams in the year since it’s release. During that period, they have been hard at work on what is set to become their debut album with the majority of which very close to being finished with a potential release date announcement imminent.

During the period of recording the album, the duo opted not to release any follow-up tracks, preferring to keep their focus on the task at hand which was the completion of the record. Deciding that once the record is finished, they can then look at building towards it’s release with singles, singer-songwriter Jonas Haaland stated his past observations as to part of the reason for the lack of content, “I’ve been lucky to work on projects for Studio60 Records artists in the past couple of years and one thing I noticed was how disruptive a single roll-out could be when those artists were still in the studio recording for that very same record. The reaction from their fans and mostly critics would then inform what they’re doing in the studio which to me, led to disjointed releases more often than not. Obviously that’s just conjecture on my part, but that’s the take-away that I got from some of my work in the studio.”

The hype for the duo thus far has been relatively low-key and any momentum built with their promo single has since faded, seemingly a conscious decision by all those involved in the progress of the duo. Their social-media accounts have remained unused since the initial release of their promo single up until Tuesday 11th October, 2022 where singer-songwriter Danielle Leone-Wilde posted an image of the tracks cover art, a grainy image of the female singer with her head leaning out of the passenger side window with the neon backdrop of the city behind her accompanied with a caption of the release date “10.15.2022”. Little is known of the duo beyond an initial brief ‘Billboard’ interview following the release of their promo single but with their debut album in post-production and mixing stages it’s been reported that we are likely to see the promotional push for the duo’s debut album step-up in the coming weeks with a winter 2022 release date for their debut record being heavily rumoured as well as a string of supporting singles to help garner buzz around the act.
Promotional copies of the single were sent to radio stations and industry publications ahead of release, in the liner notes included with the physical copies of the single, both artists included a message on the track and their upcoming plans beyond the single;





The track was written by Danielle Leone-Wilde and Jonas Haaland and produced solely by Jonas Haaland, whom also works within Studio60 Records executive ladder as ‘Head of Songwriting’ and ‘Head of Creative’, having previously had minor production roles on a number of Studio60 Record releases. The track was written around the summer of 2021, in the aftermath of officially signing to the label and the release of their debut promo single. The track was recorded and produced at Studio60 Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California with the single set to be released on October 15, 2022 as a Digital Download, 7” Single, CD Single and Cassette which includes promo single “Sunday Night Smoke Signals” as a B-Side. The track will also be made available to Weekly Airplay and will also be available to streaming on all platforms worldwide from the day of release.

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Song Description;

The track begins with a keyboard and drums combination, immediately giving energy to the track with the drums providing the majority of the energy and the keyboards adding a cinematic dreamy vibe to the sound, it pushes and pulsates for the first twenty five to thirty seconds to set the initial scene as Danielle sings the opening verse to the song which highlights the pre-drink excitement and energy mixed with a feeling of drowning sorrows from being in the midst of a relationship fall-out that appears to have been a long time coming, she sings with a slightly deep vocal tone, slow and sultry “I’ve got my pre-drinks with my girls, sipping on Grey Goose/Running fashionably late like we always do/Putting my makeup on in the taxi cab using a handheld mirror just praying it ain’t so bad/And I’m just fucking bugging out cause I can’t let it go/Another pointless fight mere hours ago/But this time it’s serious and there’s no more going back/We’ve broken up for the last time/I hope you know that” which paints the picture of the song that is about to unfold. The self-empowered initial feeling of going out drinking with her friends and having a good time, quickly transitioning to thoughts and feelings elsewhere playing on her mind. A situation and feeling that will feel incredibly relatable to this duo’s entire generation.

As we then move into the hook following the opening verse, the sound of the keyboard filters down to very minimal and almost unnoticeable, shifting tone and energy of the song as we’re given just the drum beat that was present throughout the opening verse, Danielle’s vocal’s are accompanied by those of her bandmate Jonas Haaland as he arrives in the song, their voices meshing together well as her brooding delivery is matched with his male vulnerability as she leads the hook with her vocal more prominent, but he adds a faint undertone in the background, “What if I get a taste for this/And hit lucky in the first bar that we party in/And what would you do if you saw me dancing with him/If I hit lucky in the first bar that we party in.” with Jonas’ role in the hook just to add a little vulnerability to the general lyrical tone, initially coming across as a ‘fuck you’ from Danielle to her partner that she’s in the midst of a break-up/argument with but the subtle addition of Jonas’ vocals as harmony and the tones of fragility that can be heard as you listen closer adds an achingly heart-breaking elemental undertone to what seems like a very straightforward hook.

The music remains primarily the drum beat with a very faint hit at the dreamy sound of the keyboards far off in the background. The arrival of Jonas’ vocals in the hook also serve a purpose in slowly introducing him into the song as he follows that up with his own lead verse, one that shows his side to the story and how he opts to react to a major fight or argument. Where Danielle hits up her girls and aims to primarily hit the city’s nightclubs surrounded by drunken behaviour and masses of people, Jonas contrasts this with a local bar where he can quietly sit with a drink and let his mind process what is going on, lyrically the message being posed to the listener is one that how you handle difficult situations in the immediate aftermath is important in the eventual outcome. If you both handle it recklessly then something good has the potential to go away forever, if you handle it with your thoughts, poise and consideration the outcome could be that all is not lost. Jonas highlights the start of this thought process with a vulnerable tone as he delivers his verse, “A stupid fight’s not enough reason to throw the towel in/But I know you’re stubborn so fuck it, I’ll just go along with the games you’re playing/You’ll find me in the corner of my local shitty dive bar/Sitting alone sipping on bourbon and playing Sinatra on the jukebox/When the old boys are playing darts in the corner/And the barman don’t need you to tell him your order/Whiskey with just the one rock/You know, just to take a little of the edge off/And I sit there quietly/Contemplating/Anticipating.” which as stated, shows the contrasting decisions between both people.

This is followed up by the songs hook repeated, sandwiched in-between is a brief verse by Jonas once more, one that serves the purpose to progress the story of the song into it’s final part which is of course the reconciliation, again highlighting how one party dealing with things in a more steady and composed way is enough to salvage something that may have been lost if both had gone down the route that Danielle had chosen. Jonas steps up, his vocals appearing with a little more confidence this time around, the vulnerability replaced with a coolness as he sings, “And I’ve been down this very road before, I know where it leads/The bar closes at eleven thirty/Jacket slung over my shoulder as I walk the overpass that takes me back to our home/You’ll be switching night clubs around this time/I’ll expect a drunken text and an incoherent phone call.” which again, pushes the relatability of this song, making it one that is likely to feel very relatable to their generation.

As we arrive at the final verse of the song, we’re given a vocal trade-off between the pair as they deliver their alternating paths of the evening which eventually lead them back to each other. The verse continues with just primarily the same drum beat with faint background tones from the keyboard, but the sound of the keyboards increase in prominence as the verse progresses and eventually swells to the conclusion of the verse, bringing back that dream-wave type of sound that was heard at the beginning of the song. Danielle opens up the verse with a realisation and clarity that leads her to make the first move in the reconciliation, “My eyesight’s a little fuzzy and the music isn’t so clear/My feet are a little achy from all the dancing/I step outside to clear my head/Sitting alone on the curb outside of the club and my head won’t stop spinning/I pick your name from the contacts in my phone/And you pick up in an instant/Babe, I just wanna come home will you come get me.” without missing a beat, Jonas vocal’s arrive with confirmation “I’m half a block away I’ll be right there/And my heart swells to know in her drunken honesty/I’m the only one she’s thought of.”
It’s around this point where the soundscape of the track is at its highest, the drum beat increasing in intensity and the keyboards matching it perfectly creating what feels like an audio version of the prominent scene from an indie romance film. Danielle continues under the energetic music “And when he walks around the corner with Chinese fast food under his arm/I remember how he’s always there for me/Even when I’m on that crazy manic shit, with anxiety and accusations with no substance.” showing a little more detail into their relationship and how it takes consideration and understanding to make it through the difficult moments. Jonas offers that considerate side simply singing, “I forgive how she falters/We sometimes get wrapped up in it/All this little silly shit.”.
And you find the song wrapped up with a warm and comforting conclusion as the two sing together for one final time with a slightly modified version of the songs hook to close things out, “What if we get a taste for us/Walking through Brooklyn drunk as fuck/Talking shit and reminiscing/Keep your fear of missing out cause there’s nothing we’re missing”.

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“Drunk in Brooklyn”
Written by D. Leone-Wilde, J. Haaland

“I’ve got my pre-drinks with my girls, sipping on Grey Goose
Running fashionably late like we always do
Putting my makeup on in the taxi cab using a handheld mirror just praying it ain’t so bad
And I’m just fucking bugging out cause I can’t let it go
Another pointless fight mere hours ago
But this time it’s serious and there’s no more going back
We’ve broken up for the last time
I hope you know that

What if I get a taste for this
And hit lucky in the first bar that we party in
And what would you do if you saw me dancing with him
If I hit lucky in the first bar that we party in

A stupid fight’s not enough reason to throw the towel in
But I know you’re stubborn so fuck it, I’ll just go along with the games you’re playing
You’ll find me in the corner of my local shitty dive bar
Sitting alone sipping on bourbon and playing Sinatra on the jukebox
When the old boys are playing darts in the corner
And the barman don’t need you to tell him your order
Whiskey with just the one rock
You know, just to take a little of the edge off
And I sit there quietly
Contemplating
Anticipating

What if I get a taste for this
And hit lucky in the first bar that we party in
And what would you do if you saw me dancing with him
If I hit lucky in the first bar that we party in

And I’ve been down this very road before, I know where it leads
The bar closes at eleven thirty
Jacket slung over my shoulder as I walk the overpass that takes me back to our home
You’ll be switching night clubs around this time
I’ll expect a drunken text and an incoherent phone call

What if I get a taste for this
And hit lucky in the first bar that we party in
And what would you do if you saw me dancing with him
If I hit lucky in the first bar that we party in

My eyesight’s a little fuzzy and the music isn’t so clear
My feet are a little achy from all the dancing
I step outside to clear my head
Sitting alone on the curb outside of the club and my head won’t stop spinning
I pick your name from the contacts in my phone
And you pick up in an instant
Babe, I just wanna come home will you come get me
I’m half a block away I’ll be right there
And my heart swells to know in her drunken honesty
I’m the only one she’s thought of
And when he walks around the corner with Chinese fast food under his arm
I remember how he’s always there for me
Even when I’m on that crazy manic shit, with anxiety and accusations with no substance
I forgive how she falters
We sometimes get wrapped up in it
All this little silly shit

What if we get a taste for us
Walking through Brooklyn drunk as fuck
Talking shit and reminiscing
Keep your fear of missing out cause there’s nothing we’re missing”

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Credits & Personnel

CREDITS

Produced by Jonas Haaland
Engineered by Jonas Haaland, Garrett Bennington
Mixed by Emilia Grayson
Recorded at Studio60 Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California, USA

PERSONNEL

Jonas Haaland – vocals, lyrics, keyboards, drums, composition, production, engineering
Danielle Leone-Wilde – vocals, lyrics
Garrett Bennington – engineering
Emilia Grayson – mixing

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