A Mess – I Wish Me a Merry Christmas
Ugh! A terrible time is upon us, and you’re about to feel it more acutely than most if you happen to be a music fan and record collector. It’s that time of the year when, seemingly, every single pop and rock singer starts singing carols. Some are sweet, most are positively ridiculous. Why, for example, are heavy metal singers or pop divas trying to convince us, all of a sudden, that they really care about their fellow man?
All this false modesty is a little gut-wrenching. It’s something that Danish pop-punk starlet A Mess has also realised. And, it is something that you need to prepare for as you take stock of what’s really important to you. Should you decide, quite rightly, that you are the most important person in your life, your best bet is to get rid of all the cheesy Xmas tunes right now.
A Mess, in my book, has the right idea on the pop-meets-punk “I Wish Me a Merry Christmas.” The direct, sugary Ramones-styled pop track is a holiday anthem for self-love, courage, and individuality. Doing things for others, A Mess realises, is all fine and good. But doing things for yourself is what this gigantic Christmas industry wants to make us forget about. “I Wish Me a Merry Christmas” wants to provide an antidote.
Self Torque – Wicker Incident
If you’re reading these lines and are considering starting a melodic, pop-punk band, I would like to ask you two things. First of all, do it without hesitation! Secondly, and just as importantly, remember that, most likely, you’re not from California, have not spent your Winters at the beach and will need to adapt all of those Green Day and Rancid songs to your own experience.
But that’s a good challenge to have! Self Torque, a promising pop-punk band from Britain, is among the groups adding their unique touch to a familiar format. And what’s the best thing about it? Maybe it’s the fact that this kind of music still has something to tell listeners even when the lyrics, melodies and guitar sound are not informed by sweet Californian rays.
Indeed, Self Torque’s “Wicker Incident” sounds like 90s Californian pop-punk without the Sun, the cheerful optimism, and the knowledge that the music industry buildings are just around the corner. No, instead the lyrics are an almost philosophical take on the nature of memory, the vocals are filled with earnest rage, and outside of the recording studio where this was made, all you get is gloomy Britain. Self Torque has created its unique sound using its unique circumstances.
