Gunshots or Fireworks find tension in the in-between on new single ‘Open Mic’

There's a restless quality running through ‘Open Mic’, the new single from Arizona alt-rock band Gunshots or Fireworks. Taken from their second EP 'DÉSORDRE', the track sits comfortably within the band’s broader fascination with uncertainty, disconnection and the strange emotional weight of trying to find clarity in a world that rarely offers much of it.

Throughout this new offering, Gunshots or Fireworks build their sound through contrast. Atmospheric guitars create a sense of space, while firmer rhythms give the song momentum, allowing quieter moments to sit alongside more forceful bursts of distortion and release.

There are traces of 90s indie-rock in the guitar textures, but the band avoid making nostalgia the central point. The track feels rooted in alternative rock tradition while still carrying a more cinematic, post-rock-leaning sense of scale.

‘Open Mic’ is particularly effective in the way it leaves room for ambiguity in its meaning. The wider EP is mostly concerned with disorder, and this track feels aligned with that philosophy. It doesn't attempt to neatly solve the anxieties that sit beneath the music. Instead, it lets them remain present, pushing and pulling against the more melodic elements of the arrangement.

As another window into 'DÉSORDRE', the track reinforces a band increasingly comfortable with complexity. Gunshots or Fireworks take familiar indie-rock materials and use them to create something unsettled, reflective and quietly compelling.