Aquarama – Together (A Better Place To Celebrate)
For the most part, modern music is either about escapism or extreme realism. Everything in between is likely a waste of time or a folk song. Tunes are designed to get you upset about the injustice of the world around you and consider writing a letter or starting a protest. Or, they are designed to help you drift away, which, especially in the times that we are living, is no small thing.
Songwriting involves taking the audience through a maze and leading them to the place you want them to reach. Songs rarely start with the chorus but build on that tension. Similarly, strong psych-rock experiences don’t instantly glitter and sparkle but lure you in.
Well, Aquarama are so confident in their work that it takes a mere few seconds before you are brought into a whole brave new world on Together (A Better Place To Celebrate). The Italian group are rigorous in their approach. What they promise is a world of colour and wonder, and just like an amusement park owner determined to give you your money’s worth, they don’t skimp out on any of the experience.
PLAY DEAD – Hide
Well, it takes a whole lot of common ground and group talks for a new group to decide just what kind of songs you should start writing. What’s really worth talking about? What topics represent the whole band? What would the world want to hear?
Of course, it’s best if the lyrics actually mean something. Rhyming “supersonic” with “gin and tonic” doesn’t quite fly for all bands. But, go too far on trying to sound deep and you might end up with the kind of lyrical monstrosity designed for a Greta van Fleet album and for pensioners hoping Led Zeppelin are going to reform.
PLAY DEAD’s Hide finds a creative way to go about things. Their punk-rock single details the confusion and confidence, the enthusiasm and drudgery, of life as a youth. It’s the kind of tune that sounds like someone wildly swinging a metal chain over their head. In many ways, it goes nowhere, but that’s the point. It’s much the same as real life.
