By Kara Fellows

Chicago indie-rock band Clearance just released a third track from their upcoming album Rapid Rewards, titled “Nonplussed,” and it’s an absolute jam.

From the drumstick-clacking start, to the classic fade out at the end, “Nonplussed” will have your head bouncing and feet tapping along to the upbeat guitar riff and ’90s lo-fi vibes. It’s straight-up alt-rock, with the angst you love and the clever lyrics that make you think.

“Nonplussed” is a giant lyrical eye-roll at the egotistical people of the world. Everyone knows or has met that one person who constantly talks about themselves and has to one-up what anyone else says, and Clearance is saying what everyone is thinking.

The Chicago foursome of Mike Bellis, Kevin Fairbairn, Greg Obis and Arthur Velez has somehow remained pretty under the radar until now. Clearance released two EP’s in 2013 and 2014 followed by a compilation of those two in 2014, highlighting the band’s beginning years. The band’s upcoming album, Rapid Rewards, is set to launch Sept. 25.

Three tracks from the album have been released, titled “You’ve Been Pre-Approved,” “Total Closeout” and “Nonplussed,” and they’re getting a lot of hype. Clearance has managed to tap into the alt-rock world and the world of people who wish it was still the ’90s – which may be a good thing because despite all the questionable pop culture of that decade, the music was amazing.

Though Clearance is based in Chicago, they are currently signed by Unsatisfied Records in L.A., which has produced all of the band’s work so far. They have toured in the Midwest and Northeast states to great reviews and we can’t wait to see what they come up with in this next album.

Despite spending their entire career being compared to the ’90s band Pavement, Rapid Rewards may be the album that lets Clearance take on the indie world with their name alone. The songs so far hint at a fully formed sound and the lo-fi vibe sounds almost refreshing in the perfectly tuned sound of popular music coming out now.

Yes, they have a similar sound to Pavement, so for their first album that’s whom they will be compared to. But this isn’t a one-trick pony sort of band. If the evolution of Clearance’s sound so far is any indicator, this band will be around for a while and definitely has the potential to make a name for itself.