Rainn Byrns' Same Shit Different Year Is Slacker-Rock At It's Finest

That's The One: Rainn Byrns | London

It’s a new year, and with the release of Rain Byrns’ third single Same Shit Different Year, the indie-folk singer is making no resolutions.

Well, he won’t be keeping them anyway.

Hailing from an air force town in Texas, the singer has wound up in South London writing the type of slacker-rock bangers that would make even Mac DeMarco swoon. Combining deadpan delivery and frank lyricism, Rainn Byrns finds himself with a hangover on New Years Day, ruminating on how absolutely nothing has changed.

Self-described as ‘crappy-go-lucky’, the songwriter has a knack for stating the obvious, and armed with the four-track tape machine he bought himself for Christmas, he’s made it ever so charming. His latest single gleams of self-deprecation, listing off aspirations he knows he won’t accomplish - not because he can’t, he just doesn’t really want to. “I’m gonna promise to drink less beer, I wanna learn a different language” soon turns to the tongue-in-cheek "I'm drinking wine instead of beer, voulez-vous coucher avec moi", coupled with a playful, guitar melody so repetitive it becomes saccharine in nature.

With an infectiously comedic approach, Same Shit Different Year is oddly refreshing. Candidly commenting with a cheery nonchalance on being stuck inside, self-improvement and the 'merry-go-round' of days all blurring into one. As he morosely jokes in the unfortunately relatable sentiment “I’m feeling depressed, on unofficial house arrest”, the world around us might feel pointless but there’s comfort to be found in acceptance, and Rainn Byrns will be plodding on regardless.

Same Shit Different Year is out now. Listen here.