Duu – Arboretum
Genre: Indie-folk, Psychedelic-rock
Everyone’s first thrills have one thing in common. They all include the element of surprise. That’s why people love to talk about their first times. These are memories that bring to mind something special, something that can’t ever happen again in the same way.
You can’t be surprised by the same thing twice, in the same way, unless you’ve developed some terrible memory loss. In this day and age, when everyone is after your attention, an audience’s genuine surprise can be mined, practically, for gold.
But some of these thrills can’t occur instantly. They require that someone invest their time and their energy first. Some of these great surprises are only reserved for those with enough patience to wait for them.
Duu’s Arboretum is a slow-burner that flows almost like a meditation on nature itself. Its beauty is hiding in the details. There’s great power to this acoustic-based, psychedelic sound, and the real joys of the song can only be felt by those that commit to letting the tune run free through tier imagination.
Ave Gart – No War
Genre: Folk-Rock, Alternative Rock
You know that you’re living through strange times when things that were normal yesterday are forbidden today. It’s enough to make a healthy person question their sanity, as well as that of their peers.
War protesters filled up our history books. They got parades and hour-long documentaries on state television. John Lennon, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi had their images plastered on bedroom posters all across the world. Have they inspired us enough?
Where are our anti-war singer-songwriters now? Probably selling NFTs and body lotion, joking with television hosts, and isolating themselves from reality. Who’s out there risking their career or, at the very least, showing some real empathy with those less fortunate?
In this climate, Ave Gart’s No War’s message rings almost like a revolutionary anthem. It’s because this is an anti-propaganda song, one that unpacks the true gruesomeness of war. The passionate performance and acoustic alt-rock stylings help deliver an important message. Peace!
