Future Punx’s latest track, “Want To Be Wanted,” requires a minimum of at least four listens: two to fully pay attention to the music and all its nuances (particularly the manner in which futuristic-sounding electronica is accented with pops of guitar), and two to fully digest the truth and gravity behind the lyrics. “Want To Be Wanted” catalyzes the engagement of the ear and mind alike.
Lyrically, “Want To be Wanted” delivers feels like knowing that you’re doing something wrong and being called out on it even though you’d prefer to live in feigned ignorant bliss. On the track Future Punx boldly highlight the curious complexity of human nature’s tendency to yearn for belonging (or other natural desires) and then simultaneously reject them or push them away. What we crave, especially if that happens to be some form of human connection, we ultimately reject when we receive. We do this, though it admittedly does not make sense. As a result, these instances become moments we mull over in our minds while brushing our teeth late at night, plot points in countless films and novels, and the reasons why we spend hours on the phone helping a close friend sort out their head.
In short, it isn’t easy. But, this is particularly where the mastery of “Want To Be Wanted” lies: the lyrics capture this complexity. Lines like “seems the contradiction is an answer to the riddle itself” harness the tension of this peculiar dichotomy while highlighting the eerie truth that lies at its core: there may very well be no solution, answer, or out—at least not aside from accepting that our own minds will always partly remain a mystery to us. That in it itself is a bit of a tough pill to swallow, but that is the reality that “Want To Be Wanted” forces us to confront.
“Want To Be Wanted” is from Future Punx’s upcoming EP, The World Is A Mess, which will be released on March 1st via Modern Sky USA/Dull Tools. Vinyl pre-orders are currently available from Modern Sky, and limited edition color vinyl pre-orders are available from Dull Tools. On March 9th, they’ll be performing a record release show at Alphaville with Bodega and Public Practice.