Another Face in the Crowd – Reignite
Someone ought to look into the tendency of modern trends to make a quicker comeback than they used to. Sure, they say that every single popular obsession disappears quickly, only to reappear at some point in the future. That used to mean that, for example, Roy Orbison-like ballads and the hoola-hoop were bound to make a comeback in 2030. (Watch out for that!)
However, if you were one of the representatives of, say, 2000s nu-metal, pop-punk or emo, all that you needed to do in order to save your career was to take a break for a few years starting in 2015. All of those genres have made a speedy comeback. Even more important is the fact that new bands are treating all of these styles just as they would modern trends and are adding their own spin on things.
Norway’s Another Face in the Crowd brings emotion, passion, and all the ingredients to make “Reignite, the emo-pop-punk meant to please both modern fans and those who have stuck around waiting for this style of music to return. For their part, Another Face in the Crowd treats this as if it’s life or death. They manage to sound like kids for whom, without uttering these truths, there might not be a tomorrow. Maybe this, precisely, was what audiences missed about this style of music and why it is back.
The Lousy Hitchhikers – No Clue
We can’t just depend on Morrissey’s gloomy lyrics for The Smiths when it comes to songs about being forced into the working life and hating every minute of it. This is a reality that hits nearly all of us. Simply, there aren’t enough songs to capture the fear, disgust and, ultimately, the bravery that it takes to get through just one day as a new employee.
But what are the people who take these chances on themselves and on the work not ripping them to shreds? A sense of self-worth, a much-needed experience of life and, if their character allows it, a few stories to smile back at. That’s no small thing, especially in a world where so many people are resigned to quiet desperation.
The Lousy Hitchhikers recall what could’ve turned out as the kind of trauma that years of therapy would’ve needed to cure on “No Clue,” but do it enough charm, and zest-for-life that you can be assured that the first day on the job didn’t leave the main character feeling defeated. “No Clue” is a lo-fi pop-punk song about taking life as it comes, making the best of it despite having no clue how things should go, and, ultimately, winning out by being the last one standing.
