Blue Youth – T.K.Y.I.T.H.Y.
Some people go on yoga retreats to find themselves, and others might be driven to throw television sets out their windows if you forced them to join one. Everyone needs a bit of relief, especially during these times, but there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy.
For some, yelling into a paper bag might just be a better fit. And since you can expect the price of paper bags to go up now with the economic model going up in flames, bands like Blue Youth playing incredibly intense rock music might be your best bet.
This kind of music, a proud, but confused descendant of hardcore punk, is the sonic equivalent of putting on VR glasses and jumping into a game about WWI trenches. You’ll get hit, bleed out and die. But not really. It’s as serious as a heart attack for a second. Then it’s not.
You may very well need a bit of Blue Youth’s “T.K.Y.I.T.H.Y.” You’ll, especially, find this comforting if you ever notice yourself wanting to scream out at your walls that you can’t take it anymore. No, you can! But you just need to get those ideas out. I can think of a thousand worse ways to do it than this passion-filled, adrenaline-powered song.
Sutras – Bloom Watch
Rock musicians, for the most part, are more akin to factory workers than to Easter gurus. I’m sorry if this news disappoints you. But, yes, rock musicians don’t much like suffering, and will do whatever they can to avoid it.
That’s not the story of Sutras, a band that plays music in the same way that a monk might first punish himself by sitting on a bed of nails before journaling his affection for the heavens. It’s music created out of voluntary suffering.
That stands in contrast with most other bands. Musicians get tired too, and usually quicker than those in other professions. Yes, many of them phone it, embrace the routine, and avoid giving 100%. Can you blame them?
After hearing “Bloom Watch” by Sutras, you just might have to. The band plays old-school hardcore punk with the conviction of people just fresh off signing the papers to join a cult. It’s music played with great intensity. You can hear the band stumble just like an athlete who decided to sprint across a marathon. You can’t expect things like this to work. But once they do, how are you ever going to want less?
