WALK OFF THE EARTH AND D SMOKE COLLAB ON INFECTIOUS INDIE POP HIT “BET ON ME”
A decade ago, a slew of musicians took to YouTube to cover the biggest hits of 2012, a banner year for alternative and indie music. Yet Canadian band Walk Off The Earth outshone everyone by performing Gotye’s Billboard-topping “Somebody That I Used to Know” on one guitar shared among its five members. Now, ten years after covering the song that put them on the map, Walk Off The Earth solidifies their musical prowess with their own soon-to-be smash hit, “Bet On Me.”
Part uptempo hip-hop, part wordplay masterclass, “Bet On Me” is the sort of song that you can’t help but groove to once you hear the first few seconds. Its beat is both modern and retro, a callback to the drum tracks, bass lines and orchestral hits that were everywhere in the mid-80’s through the late-90’s. A guest verse from up-and-coming rapper D Smoke adds to the song’s timeless charm with clever lyrics about how “Betting on me is investment / Bending the rules like Inception.”
The song’s chorus reiterates such aspirational mantras with references to believing in someone like one would bet on “Apple in the ’90s,” “neon in the ’80s” and Michael Jordan’s famous collaboration with Nike. It’s the sort of positivity we need in these trying times, and it’s a credo that Walk Off The Earth says has informed their recent songwriting:
“The pandemic was a really big moment for us to realize the importance of … not being so transitory all the time, being able to stay calm … I hope, as the world starts to reopen, we can keep that same semblance as we move forward.”
Their sound may have evolved from acoustic guitar to 808s, but Walk Off The Earth proves that change and belief in oneself is the thing we all need most, now more than ever. Be on the lookout for more catchy, life-affirming hits from Walk Off The Earth soon, and take a listen to “Bet On Me” now!
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