Mp3 of the Week: Age Rings

DOWNLOAD: Age Rings, Rock and Roll Is Dead [mp3]

Used to be, when we wanted to hear an AGE RINGS number, we’d just wheel ourselves over to Will Spitz’s desk and poke him with an uncapped Sharpie until he acquiesced with an a cappella version of the song of our choosing. Last time, it took only three dots. Now he doesn’t work here anymore, so we’re forced to forgo the unique intimacy and high fidelity of his “indoor voice” live performances in favor of a digital spin of their new single, “Rock and Roll Is Dead” — out this week on the lately-very-busy-indeed Dopamine Records. Not to diss Mr. Spitz or anything, but we’re not sure what we were thinking; the fleshed-out recordings of his songs are way better than his versions. “Rock and Roll Is Dead” has big guitars, big horns, big beats, and big vocals and is frighteningly catchy to boot — never before has a song proved itself wrong so righteously. Catch the Rings at Great Scott this Saturday, October 11, for the single release, which also includes a remix by it-boy DJ Die Young.