Vandoliers – Bless Your Drunken Heart
Genre: Americana, Alt Country
Similar artists: Flogging Molly, Turnpike Troubadours, Dropkick Murphys, Old 97s, Lucero
You may well be the kind of rock fan who swears by his favorite guitar solos and likes to wear his leather jacket and studded belt to a wedding. Well, we all need something to believe in, and a consistent fashion tense has never hurt anyone. But don’t be quick to dismiss any musical genre. Chances are that you will end up having to swallow your words.
Ever since the alternative explosion of the 1990s, power-hungry rockers have found inspiration in all sorts of old and generally uncool music. Polka, folk, and country have all been integrated successfully with anthemic chants and loud guitars. Musical hybrids that include almost all combinations now exist.
Vandoliers’ Bless your drunken heart might swing with the energy of Celtic punk, but it’s a song built on the fundamentals of country music. Play this slower and ith a Southern twang, and you’d be on your way pitching this to a record exec in Nashville. It’s a clever, neat song about alcoholism and, possibly, an unexpected prelude to a barroom fistfight.
Austin Albright – Goldfish
Genre: Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock, Garage Rock
Similar artists: Kevin Morby, Guided by Voices, Parquet Courts
It’s likely that you’ve had the greatest time of your life while you were busy being miserable. Now, there is something to consider. The good ol’ days are over before you know it, and nobody even gave a hint that you were living in them, or that you should bother to enjoy them.
Lo-fi rock music is a lot like this. Sure, most drizzled, worldly music fans are waiting for a new version of The Beach Boys, ABBA, or The Beatles to gently massage their ear canals. But, while they are busying themselves waiting for something that can never occur again, they might be missing out on some of modern music’s true beauties.
Austin Albright’s Goldfish is gorgeous because of all the imperfections that it does nothing to try and hide. It’s an effortlessly executed song about despair, set up like a children’s nursery rhyme and, oddly enough, capturing the Albright sounding positively giddy. It just goes to show that while it may rain all day and the price of coffee keeps going up, you may well have some fun still if you embrace the things that you enjoy most.
