After breaching the alternative rock genre with their debut EP Honey, Look at My Face, S AND R take on a different perspective in the alternative scene with their newly released single “Party Balloon.”.

Originally from Florida, band members and partners Saxon Kennedy (guitarist and singer) and Reeve Pope (drummer) brought their musical talents to Boston. Growing up together, the duo has always had an affinity for making music. “We kind of grew into it together, because we had grown up and been exposed to the same music, just coming from the same small town. We started playing together pretty early on, in middle school, we were in school bands together,” said Kennedy.

Music was one of the first things Kennedy and Pope had in common; it made sense that they would continue their musical partnership into adulthood. The bands they once bonded over helped curate their original sound. After the release of Honey, Look at My Face, earlier this year, the duo is back and taking a left turn to their sound with “Party Balloon.”

“This is kind of the introduction to a character that we're going to be using, bubbles. [Bubbles] is, like this kind of bubbly happy-go-lucky character who's like flinging themselves into relationships and friendships and clinging to people. The idea that ‘I would be, I would be your party balloon if it just meant getting invited to the party.’ So that's like our starting perspective because what we're looking to do with this second project that we're working on is use characters to talk about relationships through different lenses,” said Kennedy.

“Party Balloon” is an alt-pop song with a light and airy chorus. Kennedy’s voice blends seamlessly over the heavy drums and acoustic guitar. In the second verse, Kennedy begins rapping over a smooth baseline, before leading back into the chorus. This mix of genres is one of the aspects of S AND R that makes them stand out among other bands.

If you’re looking to see how the song is translated live; S AND R will join the alternative rock band Opera, on December 10th at Notch Brewing in Brighton. “This is our first time playing Notch. We're just excited to be able to show this new music, show what we've been working on. We haven't really been playing out with ‘Party Balloon’.” The show is 21+ and S AND R teased the possibility of playing unheard songs.

“Party Balloon” is a great introduction to S AND R’s upcoming EP, which imitates aspects of a concept album. “All of the songs run into each other. At the end of ‘Party Balloon,’ there's a little blip which is going to transition into the next song,” Kennedy told us. The band kept hush-hush about their plans for the rest of this EP, but they are excited for fans to see what’s to come. “We really wanted to take our time with this,” Pope added.

Stream “Party Balloon” on all music platforms and check out S AND R at Notch Brewing on December 10th.

Banding Together: S AND R Talk New Single, Growing up Together, and the Future of Their Music