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“I know what I’m doin’/Baby, don’t fuck with me,” warns Seratones singer A.J. Haynes in “Gotta Get to Know Ya,” the lead single from the Shreveport, Louisiana-based band’s new album Power (out August 23rd). It’s not intended as a brush-off, but rather a statement of agency and setting the pace for a blossoming relationship.
A super-compact jam at just over two minutes, “Gotta Get to Know Ya” is constructed around a fuzzed-out, punk-funk bassline and Haynes’ versatile vocals, which range from sultry purrs to siren wails. Building on the soul and garage-rock elements of their debut album, Haynes and the Seratones keep the pace by laying down a ridiculously tight groove, sprinkling in some spacey synth effects and live-wire guitar skronk along the way. But it’s clear this is Haynes’ show: “Feel the heat of my fire/I gotta gotta gotta gotta get to get to get to know ya,” she sings, switching from smooth, Lenny Kravitz-style layered harmonies to full-Lemonade Beyoncé righteousness in the space of one quick couplet. With a track that picks up this much momentum in such a short amount of time, there’s nothing to do but comply.
