SONG PREMIERE: Re-mastering of the angry post-punk song “Candide Says” from the Steve Albini-produced LP “Do You Like To Laugh?”

The upcoming album by Recalculating, Do you like to laugh?is a burning letter from the depths of the pandemic. Overflowing with jagged guitars, pent-up emotionality and fascinating cultural and literary references, the record confronts vulnerability, absurdity, isolation and big feelings with the trio’s typical abstract and insightful poetics.

The exciting 12-song collection of wiry post-punk and grungy indie rock was recorded and mixed on 5cm tape by the late alt-rock legend Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana, The Breeders) at his legendary Chicago studio Electrical Audio. Do you like to laugh? is introduced by the explosive single “Candide Says”.

Today Slide is pleased to present the wittily titled single “Candide Says,” a witty nod to Voltaire’s masterpiece and Lou Reed’s “Candy Says.” Brimming with astute cultural satire and postmodern obtuseness, the song is an energetic work of post-punk with vocals reminiscent of Pavement and The Hold Steady, thumping guitars, and explosive loud/quiet dynamics. The development of “Candide Says” was business as usual for its songwriter, Scott Sendrow. Early pre-pandemic versions of “Candide Says” sounded like gentle, mid-tempo acoustic sketches from someone living in “the best of all possible worlds.” However, by the time Recalculating played their first post-lockdown show, the song had already been reworked, featuring their now-signature opening guitar riff and more conceptual lyrics. “The finished work better reflects the source material of its namesake and I didn’t shy away from checking out the Wikipedia page – it had been a while since I’d read Voltaire,” reveals Scott.

Scott Sendrow goes into more detail about the inspiration and process behind the song, as well as the experience of working with Steve Albini:

I never normally cannibalize songs, but “Candide Says” was different. Before the pandemic, it began life as a languid, lilting mid-tempo acoustic tune with a somewhat sarcastic, even snarky tone—essentially the first two verses. Lockdowns led to what felt like endless hours on the couch, banging away on an acoustic guitar, which in turn led to the soaring guitar riff in the current version of the song. The final two verses were added later and show where the song ended up: an angsty anthem about the struggle to stay positive.

Recording at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini was one of the most amazing things Recalculating did as a band. Suffice it to say, the music world lost an incredible, incredible talent. From our little perch on “Candide Says,” we got to see up close how he could make things sound great, seemingly effortlessly. On the third day of recording the new album, we were doing guitar overdubs. Our idea for the track was to have an acoustic-sounding guitar in the mix alongside the loud main guitar. Albini immediately suggested a great vintage Gibson SG from the studio, which he said played like an acoustic guitar, and another vintage 1959 Fender amp with a great sound. When I started playing a clean sound, he made a small suggestion that completely changed the way the two guitars played together: “It’s counterintuitive,” he explained, “but an overdriven guitar sound makes the guitar sound cleaner.” He was right, and it worked. We think Recalculating is, above all, a band you want to hear live, but the recorded version of “Candide Says” really feels like something special.

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