Songfacts®:

• The Unlikely Candidates are a Texas rock band comprising lead vocalist Kyle Morris, lead guitarist Brenton Carney, guitarist Cole Male, bassist Jared Hornbeek and drummer Kevin Goddard. After forming at their Fort Worth high school, they released their debut EP, Follow My Feet, in 2013. The title track became their first hit, reaching the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart.
• Novocaine, I keep it coming so I feel no pain
  I tell my girl that I'mma change my ways
  She knows I'm never gonna change
  
  Novocaine is a local anesthetic drug used today by certain doctors and dentists. It works by blocking the nerves in your body from sending pain signals to your brain. Morris explained to ABC Audio that he wrote the song about his "slacker lifestyle," which comprises "not really going anywhere, but also lamenting it as well."
• The song slowly climbed up Billboard's Alternative Songs chart before reaching the summit in its 33rd week. It gave The Unlikely Candidates their first #1 on any Billboard ranking.
  
  "It's funny that the song we wrote about being a slacker ended up being our highest-achieving one ever," Morris told Billboard. "I think that's also why it did so well, though. Everyone can relate to being a bit of a slacker now and then."
• "Novocaine" reached the top of the Alternative Songs chart on March 9, 2020. By March 11, the World Health Organization had declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. Morris said he is grateful that The Unlikely Candidates hit #1 when everything was still normal, as they could "celebrate and have our moment before this big storm cloud approached."
  
  Then the lockdown started coming into operation with people never leaving their houses - and the irony isn't lost on Morris. "Now we live in this strange world where being a slacker just kind of coexists with being a successful, contributing member to society," he said.