In the mid/late 90s there was a pop rock sound that was full of life. It was airy, without leaning too heavily into pop and wasn’t abrasive enough to land squarely in the rock category. For the longest time it appeared that sound was a thing of yesteryear. That is, until we found it alive and well in Blairstown, New Jersey.

Water Street, a sextet from New Jersey, has harnessed the light of a sound all but reserved for budget bin CDs. Doing so, they reinvigorate why we loved it in the first place, all while making it their own. The pull-no-punches narrative of All We Tried To Be leans into an intelligent reflection on oneself, relationship, and the world around us. Whether it’s the sociopolitical anthem of “People” or the stance-taking “Collateral,” someone somewhere (or many) is bound to find how deep and quickly the sounds of Water Street strike the right chord.

Water Street trades the trends of glitz, glam, and attempts at influence for lyric-forward modern Americana pop bursting at the seams with rock and funk tendencies. The culmination is an electric reflection in the vein of Harper and Ondrasik. Not a revival, in the traditional sense, but confidently carrying all the things that made us appreciate the late 90s/early 00s alt pop rock sound, Water Street is sure to land on your radar with their energetic, hook-laden style. They’re sure to stick around for about a dozen other reasons you need to go discover for yourself.