Bleary Eyed – 2 True
Genre: Shoegaze
There was a time when the most important guitar players of the day could just plug into a regular amp and start chopping off lines of noise. There was a time when guitar pedals weren’t used, when soundmen were rarely employed, and when audiences demanded very little out of the quality of the sound coming out of the speaker.
Fortunately, those days are far behind us. Yeah, sure, technology has advanced long enough to a moment when the click of a few buttons can help replicate the sound of any instrument. But even classic analog instruments have received a helping hang over the years. It is now possible to make one studio-recorded guitar resemble a veritable orchestra of distorted sounds.
That can be a beautiful thing, and it is certainly what Bleary Eyed believe. Their song song, “2 True” lives in a world that is covered with noise like the waters of oceans fighting to take back the land. It’s a mysterious, gigantic sound. There’s nothing natural about it, and it likely requires the band road crew to keep a precise record of all of the pedals being used and where the spares are kept in case of an unplanned disaster.
Mortigi Tempo – MODERN DOG
Genre: Grunge, Shoegaze
I hate to have to say this, but rock music and professional sports share a few things in common. The most important of these is a competitive edge. That helps bands move forward, surpass their peers, earn a career.
That’s a crushing thing to hear, I know! We must’ve all been told that such things do not belong in the arts. We must’ve all heard that when it comes to art, all that matters is opening up and communicating your ideas to an audience. Sure, that’s part of it.
However, when it comes to loud, driving hard-rock, especially, bands need outpummel their opponents, the other rock groups looking for attention. And, after all, creating a convincing hard-rocking sound is not something that comes natural to most bands.
Mortigi Tempo’s “Modern Dog” sounds like a great early 1990s grunge track that somehow missed being famous. If the timeline were correct, its lack of fame would be unfair. Just listen to the howl of the vocals in the chorus over the powerful, distorted guitar riffs. It doesn’t dig too deep, but it’s something that sounds ready to take you and whip you across the room. Just as in professional sports, power matters in music as well.
