Bend Sinister – Where You Gonna Run?
Similar artists: Royal Blood, Queens of the Stone Age
Genre: Alternative Rock
There are a lot of great stories out there. Some of them are told by folks hen having a cup of coffee, some of them are told on multi-platinum albums or in Hollywood movies. But many of these stories have the same structure, lessons and tone that unites all of them. Still, there’s no shortage of people looking out to hear brand-new stories.
You’ve probably heard a few of them yourself. There are so many, in fact, that you might just know what to expect from a great one. You’ve been trained to recognize the signs of brilliance.
Rock n’ roll is, at the heart of it, a business that deals in stories. Like all the other forms, its goal is to communicate its essence to an audience as quickly as possible. And audiences are smart. They can sniff out a great tune from the opening.
Bend Sinister’s “Where You Gonna Run?” is, at its core, a pleasant pop-rock tune that, given the right production values, could shine on the radio in just about any age. The band is clever enough to load the song with enough pleasant pop hooks to get audiences swiftly on board. But, if you liked that, you may want to stick around for what Bend Sinister are able to do with their tricky, progressive alt-rock playing.
Kwolek – Ronnie Stole This Riff + Kim Is Desperate
Similar artists: Sonic Youth, The Bangles, DEVO
Genre: 90s Rock
Music genres, at least the kinds that magazines would talk about, used to be fewer and were used as highly exclusive clubs. Getting accepted into one wasn’t easy, and the price for one of them deciding to leave them was the fans’ affection. But, it paid well and made sense that artists would try their best to get in. Once a member, they could play to dedicated fans of this genre for the entirety of their careers.
But, of course, the great musical artists don’t want to be bothered with this self-seggegration. They know that great ideas can come out of most genres. The groups that specialize in making their guitars howl while in weird tunings can hear something good going on the pop-rock radio stations. And the rap-rockers like the harmonies that folk singers are able to bring to their music.
Kwolek is one of the musicians who is fascinated with music genres and with putting them together. “Ronnie Stole This Riff + Kim Is Desperate” is two stories wrapped into one song. The instrumental parts should bring to mind pre-grunge artists like Sonic Youth and their feedback-heavy exploring. But Kwolek likes characters as well and is looking for the best way to tell their stories. It’s a very interesting song, the kind that an old-time radio programmer would not be able to comprehend, and it is proof that music genres are becoming pointless nowadays.
