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Song Review: Lake Street Dive - “I Don’t Care About You”

Lake Street Dive’s latest, “I Don’t Care About You,” shifts gears several times in its short running time.

It opens with grungy electric guitar that seems to foreshadow a hard-rocking number. But the track quickly falls into a grinding, bluesy groove that persists until just before the three-minute mark. That’s when an up-tempo, head-banging outro kicks in and takes it home.

The muscular tune benefits from Rachael Price’s powerful lead vocals and equally strong harmonies from her bandmates.

“I Don’t Care About You” appears on Lake Street Dive’s forthcoming album Side Pony, slated for release Feb. 19.

Grade card: Lake Street Dive - “I Don’t Care About You” - B

Fast-forward: Lake Street Dive - “Call off Your Dogs” (from Side Pony, due 2/19/16)

With an arrangement straight out of the second half of the 1970s - and featuring a disco beat, synths mimicking strings and slinky rhythm guitar - Lake Street Dive’s new single could be a leftover from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

And the world doesn't need any more of that.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with paying tribute to what came before - something Lake Street Dive is quite capable of doing and doing quite well - disco sucked the first time around. And despite a fine vocal performance from Rachael Price, “Call off Your Dogs” features none of the jazzy pizzazz that makes Lake Street Dive so appealing. Instead, it stands as a jarring, inauspicious preview of the quartet's upcoming LP, Side Pony.

Now available for preorder at Lakestreetdive.com, Side Pony is set for release Feb. 19, 2016.