Oklahoma dream pop trio Sports (Cale Chronister, Jacob Theriot and Christian Theriot) traffic in a kind of ironic coolness that rarely found in indie music, a genre mostly characterized by intelligent introversion and an aversion to mass appeal. Their penchant for irony and knowing self-awareness can be traced to their choice of band name, which was chosen due to their collective “lack of athleticism”.
In his review of their debut LP Naked All the Time (2015), Oxford Comma's Joshua Boydston maps out how the self-other locutions between popular jock and unathletic social outsider materializes in the band's sonic output: "Blending dream-pop harmonies, subtle psychedelic undertones and soft R&B romance into a Vaseline-like paste, this is the gangly, naive loner’s big romantic gesture to bang-bang shotgunned lust of his jock counterpart".
Album opener “You Are the Right One" thus hits the listener with the kind of ambitious, radio-friendly sultriness that characterized 80's pop hits, with the help of a borrowed guitar riff from Eric Clapton's 1977 hit "Wonderful Tonight". The lo-fi influenced production and reverb-laced vocals wraps the song's glossy vintage influences in a sonic update, as Chronister's seductive and breathy vocals spin the familiar outsider's tale of unrequited love:
'You were the right wayI was just waiting ' for you to look at meIs there a wrong timeBaby, I'm guessingJust let me knowWell, it's been a long timeSince you've been lonelySo what will I doYou are the right oneAnd I'm just the boy who is looking at youSo what will I doI tried the wrong wayI was just guessing, biding my timeYou are the only one I can picture by my side'
Lyrics: Genius
The wistful, unfulfilled romantic longings of a social outcast are a firm staple in the indie canon, but Sports' power-pop borrowings from yesteryear defy genre conventions by adding in momentum, charisma, a hint of stalker-y menace, some sexy French whispering, and a compelling redefinition of what counts as cool.
