ALICE ANIMAL – Ensorcelée
Professional musicians looking to earn a living in the biz look at a style of music and ask themselves how they may be able to recreate it while straying as little as possible from the rules that govern that genre. Musical artists look at an established genre and ask themselves what they could do to it in order to make it virtually unrecognizable from its most mundane iterations.
It’s why professional musicians are so sick of talking about records. Their work involves recreating them to a high degree of fidelity. It takes up most of their day, and the last thing that they want is to take their work home with them. The artists, on the other hand, live for music, their own and that made by others, and could spend countless hours dissecting just what it is that makes a recording sound different, unexpected.
ALICE ANIMAL’s “Ensorcelée” takes on the idea of muscular, well-produced modern rock but doesn’t let it survive as a mere cliche. Throughout the song, the general framework for modern rock is there. However, the guitarist and vocalist treat the music as a living thing and show it enough care to put it in extraordinary situations. The result is a typical sound delivered in an atypical fashion: angry rock presented as an art piece.
James Kohler – Loneliness
There are plenty of hobbies that you can adopt that are less costly, both financially and mentally, than playing music. There are plenty of hobbies that will increase your peace of mind and won’t contribute to neighbors giving you funny looks. And, in modern times, there are other ways besides writing a song that can be used to tell people how you really feel.
Alas, the siren’s call to pop music has claimed many innocent souls. Why do all of them keep falling for it? Blame the great songwriters that made it seem effortless. Your Cohens, Dylans, or Cobains talked about the world around them but mostly about themselves, and people stopped and listened. It’s hard to know whether pulling off this neat little trick made them feel any better. But, when glancing from the outside, you’d think it should have.
James Kohler’s “Loneliness” is a good indie-rock that cuts straight to the point. With a sound inspired by late 80s underground guitar bands writing pop songs, Kohler assumes that nobody unfamiliar with this kind of style will stick around. Therefore, the songwriter cuts straight to the chase.
He also has songs, and “Loneliness” is a good one. And, he, too, as most artists have throughout history, suffers. It’s doubtful that you’ll receive his message as clearly as he’d like to, and even more so that this will make him feel any better. Still, artists armed with guitars and recording equipment can’t help but make a stab at finding a connection line. It worked for a few, and I hope it’ll work for Mr. Kohler.
