activemirror. – Serendipitous
Similar artists: The Smiths, Interpol, Joy Division, The Cure
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
There are only three types of bands in the world. There are bands who write all of their songs about the place in which they live, there are those who write about the places in which they wish they lived, and there are cover bands. And, looking at the works of these artists, it’s not hard to start believing that, yes, indeed, nobody has done anything of great worth without feeling a bit of pain along the way.
The kids who grew up being shipped out by their parents to expensive Swiss boarding schools dream of the ghettos. And those who are lucky to be able to bask under constant sunshine imagine what living in Manchester must feel like. It may all be a case of playing pretend, but it can stimulate the imagination in the right way.
After all, if you don’t have a supply of misery, you must go out and find it. activemirror.’s “Serendipitous” is a bittersweet tribute to post-punk and dark British streets. It’s a message sent out all over the beaches of Aruba. But the sentiment still stands. There’s certainly a darkly romantic esthetic associated with the grimy streets of Britain. And, if you can capture all of that without actually having to live there, you’ve won.
small town sci-fi – Sidewalk
Similar artists: mewithoutYou, Pedro The Lion
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
This is the coolest time in music history. No, most of the music is terrible. What I mean to say is that it’s never been harder to understand what kind of emotion our pop stars are feeling when they’re playing/singing a song. Most of the time, it’s no emotion at all. And, when one has to be shared out for marketing reasons, the pop stars rely on their PR scriptwriters to come up with something.
It’s been going on for so long that it must seem in poor taste to even try to convey honest human emotion, to show vulnerability, to give the audience a taste of what it’s like to fail at the game of life. Fortunately, there are some who are going against the grain, swimming against the current and, most likely, sabotaging their chances at pop stardom. Good! Who wants to be in a room with those robots anyway?
Don’t listen to small-town sci-fi’s “Sidewalk” as if you were listening to a regular radio pop song. You’d be missing the point. Seek out the moments where the singing breaks or where words are enunciated with particular anguish. You’ll appreciate it more this way. And it might even stir up something in you similar to what the songwriter behind small-town sci-fi must’ve felt like putting this together. The universe has a habit, once in a while, of conspiring against you, and it’s easier for everyone if you’re truthful to yourself about how that makes you feel.
