The Miller Test – Eden Gaol
David Bowie’s mind was not very easy about the future and not very crazy about the present time either. He either feared a tyrannical regime that the Western world would fall under, feared that he might be part of that, or sang about the world not really having much time left while advocating a carpe diem approach to living.
Through it all, though, Bowie did this all with a lot of style. The majority of his fans saw little reason to let a small matter such as these fatalistic visions worry them and instead focused on the great grooves, the great clothes, and the undeniable charisma.
If you ever wonder what the experience of seeing and hearing might have been like without those things, The Miller Test’s Eden Gaol might just be the perfect glimpse. A protest song performed over a sophisticated funk backing, the single is a fun, ridiculous, and catchy tune about our shared paranoia. The Thin White Duke might nod approvingly.
Abram Shook – Fresh Juice
Don’t we always have a tendency to look at people who seem to glide through life on their looks and talent with a mixture of envy and resentment? Well, most people do. Abram Shook seems to embody that kind of character. He’s the popular soccer player that hardly ever breaks a sweat and occasionally hits a screamer from 30 yards out. Shirts get sold, and his colleagues harbour a secret grudge.
His music sounds much like that. You imagine the artist never starting work on any song before first getting just the right outfit, preferably something that includes orange and pink. Hey, we all have our work uniforms now, don’t we?
Fresh Juice sounds laid back and psychedelic in the way that you might feel walking into the home of an eccentric millionaire who collects expensive plastic flamingos for a hobby. The smooth funk of the instrumental plays soothingly while the singer croons about drinking his juice fresh out the can. Ah, the quirky life of the bourgeoisie.
