If you’ve been waiting for a rock ’n’ roll track that doesn’t ask for your attention — it grabs you by the collar and drags you into the pit — “I Need” by Dismiss is it. Dismiss don’t do subtle. This one’s a loud, sweaty, full-speed rant about modern hunger: for love, for validation, for money, for meaning — and the ugly truth that even when you get it, you still want more.

Quick facts

• Artist: Dismiss
• Song: “I Need”
• Genre: High-energy rock ’n’ roll / garage-punk with protopunk bite and ’00s alt-rock crunch
• FFO: The Stooges, MC5, Turbonegro, The Hellacopters, early Queens of the Stone Age, The Hives

Influences + where it sits

“I Need” is feeding off a few dirty, proven engines:

• Protopunk ignition — that caveman go-go-go drive and zero-frills riff mentality (Stooges/MC5 energy).
• Action rock sleaze — big rock’n’roll hooks with a grin that’s slightly violent (Turbonegro/Hellacopters vibes).
• ’00s alt-rock muscle — chunky crunch and shout-along structure without going soft (early QOTSA / early Hives lane).
• Classic rock swagger — the strut underneath the chaos; it still rocks in the old-school sense.

Where it sits: right in the sweet spot between punk urgency and rock’n’roll hook addiction. Too blunt for polite indie playlists, too rock’n’roll for hardcore purists, too punk to be nostalgia. It’s modern garage-punk / action rock with crossover potential — built for sweaty rooms, skate edits, and blasting your way out of a bad mood.

Quick hit: what it sounds like

The track runs on urgency: tight, forward-leaning rhythm, a hook that repeats like a compulsion, and a chorus that feels like it’s chasing you down the street. It’s the sound of wanting everything and still feeling empty — but instead of crying about it, Dismiss spit it out like a tooth.

The lyrics: a shopping list of desperation

The chorus is basically the human brain on a bad day:

• “I need a man… I need a girl…” — desire as dependency, blunt and deliberately messy.
• “I need gold… silver… money… fame…” — the stuff everyone wants but pretends they don’t.
• “I need connection… affection… love and need pain” — the real gut-punch: even the damage is part of the craving.

Then Dismiss drop the perfect mid-song sneer:“Blah, blah, blah / Who gives a flying fck about anything these days man…”*That’s not just a funny line — it’s the moment the track admits the whole world feels like begging for bare necessities while being told to “stay positive.”And the closer?“Full speed / New breed… To succeed / I’ll bleed.”Not motivational. Not pretty. Just honest.

Vocals: Jo sells the panic

Jo (vocals) carries the whole thing like a frontperson who’s done being patient. There’s confidence in the delivery, but it’s laced with that punk edge — like the next line might be a laugh or a headbutt. The repetition of “I need” could’ve been annoying in weaker hands. Here it becomes a chant — obsessive, addictive, and weirdly catchy.

Guitar tone: sharp, dirty, and built for sweat

Sellyoursouls (guitars) is all attack. The tone isn’t boutique or precious — it’s gritty, mid-forward, and mean enough to cut through a loud room. It’s not about flexing. It’s about landing punches.

Rhythm section: the engine room

With Monica, Andy, and Peepeace holding down the low end and the drive, the track stays pinned. Tight enough to feel pro, but still live-wire enough to feel like it could fall apart at any second — in a good way. This song doesn’t drift. It drives.

Production: clean enough to hit, rough enough to matter

“I Need” comes off the debut full-length Funeral Fund (released May 21), co-produced by George Tirouris and Bob Katsionis. The production sits in a smart zone: punchy and loud, but not sterilised. Vocals up front, guitars biting, rhythm pushing. It sounds like a band in a room — not a plugin demo trying to cosplay danger.

What it’s really about

“I Need” is need as a disease — and a fuel. It’s the modern brain addicted to attention, affection, survival, success… and still not satisfied. Dismiss, don’t moralise it. They don’t tell you to breathe, journal, or log off. They just admit the truth: We want. We want more. We want it all. And we’ll bleed for it.