By Lori Stratton

July 13, 2020

Photo: Alyssa Rasp

U Might Be Mine defiantly rises above inner demons, troubled psyches and broken spirits.

The Hazlet Township, N.J., alt-rock, pop-punk quartet of Jack Powers (drums), Gabby Guida (vocals), Dan Abbaticchio (guitar) and Kyle Sanders (bass) fiercely tackles plaguing self-doubt and lingering guilt after experiencing the demise of a passionate relationship on their latest single, “The Lows.”

“When I wrote ‘The Lows,’ I was going through a hard time mentally, and when I’m not doing well, I write. That’s just my natural response. A lot of the stuff that I write is influenced by the things I’m going through, which is why some of it is so damn sad. When I put it on paper, it made me feel like, ‘If other people can see this and understand what it means, then I won’t feel so out-of-the-box,’” Guida said.

“When I presented it to them [bandmates], it was very vulnerable because those were emotions that I can’t even articulate with proper English, and to put it lyrically against music was really raw for me. When I showed it to them, they were like, ‘This is good; we should do something with it.’ It made me feel really validated. The whole song is based on poor mental health and having to accept it and understanding where triggers come from.”

“The Lows” solemnly opens with a dramatic 30-second “Prelude” as haunting excerpts from newscasts intertwine with sparse, sorrowful piano. It quickly transitions to a scratchy, worn record that merges with a piercing guitar chord as it echoes into the distance.

That echo instantly erupts into a poignant, pop-punk frenzy as swift, high-tone electric guitars, pounding drums, quick cymbal taps and bouncy bass transport listeners to the dark trenches of despair. Guida laments, “Highlight my features that you loathe/Don’t waste my time with sweet talk, baby/It’s something that we both know/Everything that I can see is in the underbelly of the beast/Let’s manifest a rotten world/Your psyche don’t mean shit to me.”

“It’s very important to remember that nothing is temporary. Had somebody said that to me when I had written the song it probably would have been very helpful because people don’t tell you that when you’re younger. You watch all these Disney movies about girls getting saved by princes, and it’s like, ‘You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna get married, congratulations,’” said Guida, who wrote “The Lows” in November.

“But when you’re older and you’re going through that, you don’t know how to articulate what’s going on, and you’re waiting to be saved. Nothing is temporary, and you don’t need to be saved, you’re not damaged by feeling a certain way.”

U Might Be Mine also beautifully captures that gnawing feeling in their lyric video for “The Lows,” which opens with “Prelude” and features raw black and white imagery ranging from fuzzy neighborhood nightscapes to blurry screens to Norman-Rockwell-meets-Rorschach-test single artwork by Powers. “I draw a lot of strength musically from Gabby lyrically, like when she presents words and concepts, it makes me feel a certain way. I try to translate her powerful lyrics into powerful music, and I draw from the stuff that she puts forward, especially in ‘The Lows,’ like how a lot of the riffs and big explosions in the song came about,” Abbaticchio said.

Along with Abbaticchio, U Might Be Mine continues to create majestic sonic explosions throughout their growing alt-rock, pop-punk catalog, which also includes two fiery singles, “Daniel’s Song” and “Caller I.D.,” and a raging self-titled debut EP from 2018.

Released in 2019, “Daniel’s Song” blends vibrant, alternating electric guitar strums, fast drum clicks, bright cymbal taps and funky, driving bass into a romantic firestorm. Guida soulfully sings, “Why do you insist on making me look like the bad guy/All I ever wanted was to stay right by your side/You’re still my best friend/I just can’t love you the way that I used to/So why do all my friends call me an asshole and claim that I used you.”

‘Daniel’s Song’ is one of my personal favorites. I’m really happy with how it came out. I happened to write that when I was inspired by a friend of mine. At the time, he was going through it, and I took from his experiences. We were in the same friend group at the time, and I was kind of involved, but I was also an outsider. It was interesting to see it from an outsider’s perspective,” Guida said.

The band also revisits the outsider concept on 2019’s “Caller I.D.,” as shifting, deep ska-inspired electric guitars, pounding drum rolls, delicate cymbal taps and soft bass chronicle another troubled relationship. The two-minute pop-punk ditty features an angsty, voicemail-like intro from Guida, “At the tone, please record your message – Hey, Hey what’s going on? Ah, ah I miss you, I didn’t know you tried, tried calling before, like I miss you.”

U Might Be Mine also channels Green Day, No Doubt, Modern Baseball and Sorority Noise as Guida darkly sings, “I tried to call you nearly every night this week/But I couldn’t find your number in my phone/All I am to you is a conversation piece/But I’m way too scared to be alone/And I tried dancing and drinking anything that reminded me of afraid of being dead/I’ll try smoking and sleeping anything that may leave my fears and regrets.”

“I always look back on this song and cringe a little bit. I was heavily influenced by Modern Baseball and Sorority Noise. I actually wrote ‘Caller I.D.’ inspired by ‘Rory Shield’ by Sorority Noise, and whenever I listen to it, all I can hear is ‘Rory Shield.’ Whenever I tell it to other people, they’re like, ‘I really don’t hear it,’” Guida said.

Artwork: Jack Powers

In 2018, U Might Be Mine dropped a striking three-track, self-titled debut EP filled with cautionary relationship tales (“Honey!”), self-worth struggles (“Let Me Know When I’m Good Enough”) and lonely thoughts (“Untitled”). The band recorded the project and another unreleased track during a three-hour session at Retromedia Sound Studios in Red Bank, N.J.

“We walked into the studio and were mind-blown and in awe that we were even in a studio. We played straight through all of them. I think we only had to do a second take on two songs; it was just powerful,” Abbaticchio said.

U Might Be Mine started creating a powerful sound when Powers and Guida were in middle school. The two friends jammed regularly with former bassist Danyil Walters after performing together in a school talent show, thanks to a supportive band director. They also sought creative inspiration from Green Day, The Strokes and The Menzingers. The trio later brought Abbaticchio into the fold and originally named their project Um, but eventually changed it to U Might Be Mine after a lyric in “Caller I.D.”

“I was like, ‘Oh wait, that makes a lot of sense.’ A lot of our songs are about abandonment issues and relationships and not having a direction as to where your self-worth lies. That name just clicked in terms of the theme of our music,” Guida said.

Today, Powers and Guida attend Montclair State University with Sanders, who joined the band a few weeks ago. All three are majoring in music programs ranging from percussion and music education to classical voice performance to jazz guitar (Abbaticchio studies nursing at La Salle University in Philadelphia.)

“Kyle brings a really powerful bass sound, and he’s already written a lot of awesome things. He adds well to the chemistry that’s already there, and from day one, it wasn’t awkward, it was just good stuff. He filled a part of the band that we had been missing out on,” Abbaticchio said.

With a new lineup, U Might Be Mine will release a series of new singles after “The Lows” before combining them into an upcoming six-track EP. Fans can expect a new single each month through the end of the year.

“Musically, the theme at the end of ‘The Lows,’ I took those notes, and I put that in the other song. In ‘Don’t Leave Me Alone,’ which I think is the next one that’s coming out, Dan and I do backup vocals where we’re literally singing ‘The Lows,’” Powers said.

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