The Not Okays – Better Days: New Song of the Day

The Not Okays bring you Better Days. The self-described “Emo-revival band” are following up their previous single, Bite Me.

You may have caught these cats at Auckland’s Ding Dong Lounge. Here’s the blurb with details:

Independent Kiwi emo revival band The Not Okays are following up the release of their single ‘Bite Me’ with their first original release, aptly named ‘Better Days’.

Once a cover band headlining Auckland’s infamous Emo Nights at Ding Dong Lounge, The Not Okays are showing they mean business with this catchy new original and accompanying music video.

“This feels so naturally right as our first release,” says vocalist Lauren Kate Borhani. “The Not Okays is all about challenging the stigma around mental health, and screaming from the rooftops that it’s so okay to not be okay sometimes.”

“This is a song that Aaron wrote when he was going through a pretty rough period, and I’m incredibly proud of him being vulnerable and comfortable enough to talk about it, and for letting us celebrate and support him through this song,” says Lauren.

Guitarist and Vocalist Aaron Prictor wrote Better Days as a reflection of the loss he endured in 2017, where tragically he lost his father while simultaneously marking the end of a long-term relationship.

“I just wasn’t equipped to handle how much my life changed in such a short amount of time,” Aaron reflects. “I’m quite a private person and I just bottled it all and handled it badly.”

“Unsurprisingly, I felt incredibly lonely and as my only catharsis, wrote Better Days as a note in my phone. It lived there for about three years until it finally found a home in The Not Okays. The chorus is really just a promise to myself, and I hope to anyone who listens to it; that you’ve had better days before and one day you’ll have them again.”

Aaron’s vocals feature in the bridge of this track, and sets the scene well for what to expect from future releases from the band.

“Aaron’s an incredible vocalist, writer and producer, and I can’t wait to share the mic with him as much as possible. I think we’re all incredibly inspired by Paramore, especially their first few albums where we heard guitarist Josh Farro featuring vocally alongside Hayley– not that we want to follow in the footsteps of their infamous drama,” laughs Lauren.

“We’re very much trying to present a modern sound of the bands who just got it so, so right. The Not Okays are truly an emo revival band, and we can’t wait to show you what we have next.”

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