Bison Bone – It’s All The Same
Similar artists: Drive-By Truckers, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Justin Townes Earle
Genre: Folk rock, Americana, Alt Country
If it is true, and indeed, it has to be, that bad times are awaiting each and every one of us, you might as well stock up on appropriate songs to accompany you. This is not to suggest that one should wish misery upon themselves and gloat once it’s happened. However, if there’s truth to be learned from sadness, you’ll need songs like the ones provided by Bison Bone to help you see all of the shades of it.
Sad as well as happy songs exist in virtually every genre of music. There are celebratory goth songs, as there are disco tunes that could make a grown man weep. There’s no running away from the human experience. Statistically, however, it seems that the older the genre happens to be, the better it will be as a vehicle of dealing with hardships and anguish.
Bison Bone’s “It’s All The Same” is not just indebted to country and folk musical traditions but to the overbearing misery that accompanies a lot of the greatest songs from this genre. This is music for people who’ve reached the end of their rope and can’t talk earnestly to anyone about it. It’s a blues song in all but musical construction and a companion through the hardest of times.
Deap Vally – Baby I Call Hell
Similar artists: Starcrawler, The Kills
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Contrary to popular belief, playing simple garage rock is really hard, but Deap Vally make it look like child’s play. Sharing so much DNA with the original form of rock n’ roll means that this kind of music cannot be played by someone who will doubt themselves for even a moment. Like staring down a wild beast, lose eye contact for one moment, and you’re lost!
But Deap Vally know that it takes more than just the right kind of attitude. The very best garage-rock songs contain involuntary hip thrusts, toe taps, and winks. These songs are designed to hypnotize listeners, and each and every one of the genre’s greats is able to do that.
Deap Vally’s “Baby I Call Hell” is a nasty garage-rock singalong. It borrows the books on The Kills or The White Stripes. But those weren’t original texts either. This kind of rock n’ roll doesn’t belong to anyone but to the bands that are able to turn audiences inside-out. This modern rock duo shows great promise in this regard and is ready for the spoils that come with this.
