12Eleven's "Whatever This Is" combines a retro groove with contemporary magic

12Eleven's new single, "Whatever This Is," is an epic journey that parachutes you directly into a new-age 1970s jam with a fresh, modern twist. Those first notes are snappy and energetic, and the song is immediately engaging with lively instrumental and impish, laid-back vocal contributions that seem to ebulliently surf upon the music with such an astonishingly easy feel.

The live saxophone lends it a sense of lush memories, but it's the way it's grafted onto alternative signifiers that makes this song feel so utterly of the moment. There's just an energy here you can't deny and a kind of aliveness that makes the song feel like it's happening there in the room with you. But when you feel like you've nestled into its infectious rhythm, the song spreads its wings into a sprawling instrumental finale. 

And this climactic part isn't just a display of the band's technical prowess; it's an immersive experience, a moment where melody, groove, and improvisation come together in pure musical joy. Originally issued as a single, it quickly became a highlight, and it's easy to see why. There is a character and personality to this track, the sort that's going to make you hit replay as soon as it is over. It's both thoughtful and new, playful and sophisticated, but most of all, utterly irresistible.

"Whatever This Is" is much more than a piece of music however, it is a reflection of what is at 12Eleven's creative heart right now, the sound of the past clashing with the sound of the here and now and also the sound of what the future has in store for them, a mission statement like that positions place at the cutting edge of alterantive music right now.

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