First Impression: My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na

First things first, this is a fucking cool cover for the single.After four years, an aborted album that Gerard Way called “horrifying” and the departure of drummer Bob Bryar, My Chemical Romance are finally ready to show us what they’ve been up to.

Earlier today Radio 104.5 here in Philly snagged the World Premiere¹ of “Na Na Na”, the first single from Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, whose November 22 release date has been all but confirmed at this point. Frontman Gerard Way described the song as both “dumb as fuck” and “a punk rock ‘Hey Ya!’”. The title alone gives me evidence that it’s the former, and while “Na Na Na” is unabashedly fun, there’s no moment in the track that resonates the way “Shake it like a Polaroid picture” did seven years ago.

That said, “Na Na Na” has all the unharnessed energy of a six year old after a dozen Pixy Stix. It’s loud, it’s jubilant, it’s more than a little ridiculous, but let’s face it; if you can listen to this song and get that hook out of your head after three listens, you’re a better person than I am. What’s most impressive here is that My Chemical Romance hold absolutely nothing back. In a period when punk rock is getting diluted and focus-grouped into something that’ll appeal as much to Hot Topic tweens as their soccer moms, “Na Na Na” is a sign that MCR couldn’t give a shit. The childish title and sing-song hook doesn’t strike me as laziness or pandering; it’s just the purest form of energy the band could muster to match the fury of the song. All in all, big win for My Chemical Romance. Put me down as being excited to hear the rest of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

You can hear the song (in beautiful CDQ courtesy of KROQ) below. Let me hear your thoughts on the song in the comments!

My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na

____________________________________________________________________

¹Most reports are saying that either Zane Lowe at BBC Radio 1 or KROQ were the first to play this song. I have firsthand knowledge that Radio 104.5 played the song at around 10:20 AM EDT. That’s several hours before Zane Lowe played it on Radio 1 and the “official” world premiere at KROQ. For what it’s worth, 104.5 were taken to task for jumping the gun. My take? The song showed up in 104.5′s inbox early; they’d have been crazy not to play it, regardless of who the exclusive might’ve been promised to. I would have done the same thing in their shoes.