B-Side Guys

The gentle hum of analog synthesizers opens “Today,” the fourth and final single from Reindeer Flotilla’s upcoming album Radio Silence, setting the stage for a deeply personal exploration of connection through life’s seemingly insignificant moments. The Los Angeles duo of Neal Harris and Josh Brown have crafted a meditation on modern relationships that feels both intimate and universal, wrapping their observations in warm electronic textures and melodic guitar work.

At its core, “Today” is a love song about small talk – or rather, the profound meaning we attach to casual conversations with those who captivate us. Harris’s vocals carry a quiet urgency as he confesses, “I just wanted to know everything about you / With the hope that you’d learn a little about me.” The track’s steady electronic pulse mirrors the persistent thoughts of someone caught in romantic obsession, where even the most mundane shared experiences become treasured memories.

The production achieves a delicate balance between organic and electronic elements. Vintage drum machines provide a mechanically precise foundation, while Brown’s guitar work adds human warmth and vulnerability. The interplay between these elements creates a sonic landscape that perfectly captures the song’s central tension between structured routine and raw emotion.

Each verse catalogs daily activities – watching an unremarkable film, finding a restaurant worth recommending, sharing a late-night coffee run – that become charged with meaning through the lens of attraction. When Harris sings “Today I saw a map of LA / I thought about a decent salad restaurant you might appreciate,” the specificity of the image transforms what could be dismissed as trivial into something achingly genuine.

The song’s arrangement builds gradually, with layers of synthesizers accumulating like collected memories. A particularly poignant moment arrives when Harris reveals, “I knew something but not everything about you / More than I’d hoped to / When I was first spoke to.” The admission captures both satisfaction and longing – the joy of growing closer tempered by the recognition that complete understanding might remain forever out of reach.

The track’s closing reference to purchasing a Prophet synthesizer (“Today I bought a prophet to play”) connects the personal narrative to the song’s own creation, suggesting that artistic expression might be the ultimate way to process these intense feelings. It’s a meta-touch that adds depth without becoming precious, grounding the emotional story in the physical act of making music.

For Reindeer Flotilla, “Today” represents a refined distillation of their sonic signatures – dramatic vocals, analog warmth, and melodic guitars – into something both focused and expansive. The duo has created a song that transforms the quotidian into the profound, finding universal truth in the specific details of modern romance.

As the final single before Radio Silence arrives, “Today” suggests an album that will reward close listening with its careful attention to both sonic and emotional detail. It’s a promising indication that Reindeer Flotilla’s third full-length release will continue their exploration of how we connect with each other in an age where even the smallest interactions can carry tremendous weight.