Bonnaroo Band of the Day: Reptar

Is it just us, or does the song from the Rugrats‘ “Reptar on Ice” musical immediately get stuck in your head when you hear the band name Reptar? Just us? Cool. Reptar (the band, not the cartoon dinosaur) hails from the indie rock oasis of Athens, GA (also home to previous Bonnaroo Band of the Day Futurebirds). The band’s debut, 2012’s Body Faucet, proceeded by a much-hyped appearance at SXSW, gained the Reptar a ton of buzz throughout last year, and cemented their status as the indie pop group to watch. With the buzzy guitar juxtaposed with pulsing rhythmic sensibility of Vampire Weekend, the melodic ear of Bahamas, and the occasional psychedelic tinge of Dr. Dog, Reptar are at once deliciously poppy and densely and melodically layered and smart.

Comprised of Ryan Engelberger, William Kennedy, Andrew McFarland, Graham Ulicny, and Poof Daunghty, the band states “if Reptar had a superpower, it’d be the knack for warming up every space they inhabit.” From all of the buzz surrounding their infectious and engaging live show, it seems the band does, in fact, possess that power. Reptar maintins the perfect balance of strong, engaging, and accessible indie pop compositions, without ever treading into the territory of pretention, and they’ve got the chops, honed by years of touring and performing house shows, to back the strength of their songs live. For a fun, refreshing dose of indie pop, don’t miss Reptar at ‘Roo this summer!

Listen | “Sebastian”

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/37474833″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Watch | “Houseboat Babies” (Official Music Video)