Music By KOTA – Lucy
If you know anything about our site, you might have remarked a tendency to be smartasses. It’s the curse of the music critic to believe that they know more about music than the musicians themselves. Often it is not true, but just like miners toiling away in the darkness, critics secretly believe that the world belongs to them.
Once in a while, we have to leave all jokes aside and simply salute the quality of the playing of a rock band in fine form. We’re doing that today for Music By KOTA’s Lucy, a pastiche of bluesy rock and 60s songwriting.
Everything about this tune feels classic, but not old and musky. The vocals reverb laced as they float perfectly and effortlessly through the mix. The power trio adds just the right amount of blues-tinged rock to proceedings. All this aside, they’ve created a very good, classic-sounding single.
Abel Raise The Cain – Baptism Of Fire
Not many songs make me belly laugh. This one did, and I’m glad for it. The Springsteen-song turned band name Abel Raise The Cain’ Baptism Of Fire is an electro alt-rock tune looking to cause trouble.
The tune is loosely tied in with the image and stories about Charles Manson, one of the most notorious characters in American popular culture. Given the murders of Sharon Tate, and the fame the event still holds, it’s fair to say that, whether Manson was involved directly in them, choosing to feature him in the guise of numerous postage stamps as the artwork for your single is in pretty bad taste.
Well, we like bad taste. Much like Manson’s own musical work, this one is kind of hard to pin down. Unlike the hippie-folk that informed Manson’s work, Baptism Of Fire is a pop-industrial tune with similarly vague, difficult to make out lyrics. Maybe it’s time that America made peace with its past. Perhaps this song will help, maybe it won’t. Still, no doubt, cult leaders make good subjects for television interviews and rock songs. What’s shocking anymore, though?
