B. Hamilton – Martin Eden Written Left-Handed in Crayon
Genre: Jazz Fusion
Modern pop music, and nearly every other art form still practised in the modern age, doesn’t see much use for craft and technique. Of course, supporters of this will tell you that this is merely a result of the pop art better representing the interests of regular people. They no longer need any particular knowledge to be able to understand art.
The truth, however, is that without the need for craft of technique, it’s easier to make more of something and do it cheaper. Pop music has evolved in the exact same way as cheap fashion, inexpensive travel, or affordable packaged food. Andy Warhol was right in painting soup cans. His kind of art and Campbell’s have enjoyed much the same evolution.
It’s hard to accept B. Hamilton’s “Martin Eden Written Left-Handed in Crayon” without accepting that there will be elements of this recording that you will not understand. B. Hamilton’s should ideally feel like joining up a masterclass held in a foreign language that you don’t exactly speak proficiently. Musically, it owes more to Steely Dan and the jazz fusion masters than to the Strokes, and this might just be a sign of better times ahead.
Hand Drawn Maps – Red and Blue
Similar artists: La Luz, Allah-Las, Babe Rainbow, Thee Oh Sees
Genre: Surf Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock
Most of us are constantly dreaming of places other than the ones in which we currently are. We all need something to keep us dreaming. Call it escapism if you absolutely must. You know, your weed dealer knows it, the Hollywood movie producer knows it, but many modern musicians are forgetting this fact. Well, Hand Drawn Maps still want to take you to a world far within your imagination.
Is it really such a crime? If anything, from progressive to punk-rock, decades ago, this is what bands strived to do. And none of them had much more at their disposal than a few six-strings and some drums to bang on. If you were listening to Ramones, you were suddenly brought into a crime drama set in New York City. If you were playing Genesis, you were transported to an English fairytale. It was quite the deal for all parties involved.
Hand Drawn Maps’ “Red and Blue” carries with it the unmistakable trace of 1960s psychedelia, starting with the sounds and all the way down to the moodiness of the piece. While listening to 60s prog, you get the feeling of starring for a few minutes to a kaleidoscope, and this is the same impression that Hand Drawn Maps’ might give you here. It’s almost the end of the year, and you’ve likely been working very hard or hardly at all. It’s time to put all that behind you, to relax and to allow these psychedelic sounds to transport you in a little corner of your mind that you’ve been keeping hidden.