The Human Condition – La Boda Muerta
Genre: Stoner Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Alternative Rock
Great art often takes a whole lot of great, boring work. Elbow grease receives far more praise in areas such as sports or academic achievement. But when it comes to convincing hard-rock music, a similar dedication is required. The Human Condition are absolutely beginners when it comes to recording music, but by the sound of it, they’ve paid their dues in the rehearsal space.
The rehearsal space is, of course, also underappreciated. Few of the many music bios being made recently show bands painstakingly, mind-numbing that will musicians to live with playing the same riff or drum part a million times before doing anything productive with it. A few documentaries will show just how tough it is to create a convincing rock sound.
The Human Condition’s “La Boda Muerta” is a convincing mix of alt-rock and stoner elements from a brand new group that’s worked hard to reach the standards of their 90s-based influences. Yes, the production values are a bit murky. But let this band keep its same anger and hunger, and equip them with some studio time, and you may well get something great!
Alex Hellcat – Devil In Disguise
Similar artists: Rancid, Social Distortion, NOFX
Genre: Skate Punk, Punk, Pop Punk
Those constantly worrying about music’s potential for regeneration ought to look elsewhere in the world for trouble. There’s plenty to go around. As for rock, as well as all other styles, changes will just happen naturally. They will often come from the people who have the most capability of influencing the masses. Alex Hellcat, for example, is a discipline of Tim Armstong and writing the songs that the Rancid frontman hasn’t quite gotten to just yet.
It takes imagination to pull this off. There might be some who will scuff at music that sounds so much like someone else’s. There might be some who will claim that Alex is merely riding the coattails of Armstrong’s fame. There might even be some truth to this. But this is missing the point. Impersonation requires imagination. It involves creating a full alternative universe.
Alex Hellcat’s “Devil In Disguise” is the Rancid song left off the official albums, the b-sides, and the live recordings. It does sound uncannily like Tim Armstrong. In the age of AI, this may not be tremendously impressive. However, this is also the work of approximating just what Armstrong might be thinking of laying down to tape, making it an interesting listen for dedicated fans of Rancid.
