Night’s Bright Colors – Birnam’s Holiday
Genre: Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, Indie Rock, Indie Pop
Similar artists: The Pixies, Elliott Smith, Band Of Horses
To some, The Pixies were modern sonic terrorists who had found a brand new way of using a vocal howl and ear-piercing guitars to scare their audiences into submission. To David Bowie, they were “the demented Beatles“, a group that possessed zest, craziness, and an incredible ear for pretty melodies in equal measure.
Time has proven Bowie to have been closer to the truth. And, really, isn’t this the whole purpose of pop-rock music? At its very best, pop songs are about melodies that thrill you, thrills that shock you, and shocks that aren’t bad enough to prevent you from playing the tune a few more dozen times. Also, yes, all bands should aspire to be The Beatles.
Night’s Bright Colors’ Birnam’s Holiday sounds like music made by mental patients with a weekend pass. There’s lovely, campy, charming fun to be offered by the cavalcade of pouring melodies. But, there’s some darkness underneath this all for good balance. Night’s Bright Colors have crafted something that gets very close to being a perfect pop tune. Misfits hear the prettiest of melodies it seems.
Bobcat – I’ll Be Gone
Genre: Rockabilly, Dream Pop, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Elvis Costello, JD McPherson, Badfinger, Todd Rundgren, Fountains Of Wayne, Fastball, Young Veins
If your heart is set not merely on playing a few licks, but on really mastering your instrument, your career choices are pretty straightforward. You could take your gift for music and your scholastic inclination and become a jazz musician. After all, jazz has a proud tradition and a large sprawling history. The benefits of this move will include a silent sort of appreciation from fellow musicians and long discussions with your mates about scales and modes.
The other less traveled road is to become a pop songwriter, one that isn’t afraid of adding a certain layer of sophistication to tunes that are supposed to reach the masses. There are no assurances that your path towards glory won’t be filled with a few landmines as you’ll learn from Badginger’s story. But, you may appeal to a larger audience, you’ll get to wear shades indoors and, fate permitting, you’ll even get to sign some autographs.
Bobcat’s taken an obsession for power pop in the vein of Elvis Costello and crafted I’ll Be Gone. This, together with the other songs in Bobcat’s repertoire showcase a fine appreciation for well-orchestrated pop songs with biting lyrics, and a certain arrogance of thinking that these sorts of tunes can and should be appreciated by the entire world. Such confidence is needed and, after all, we could have lost this all to jazz. Count yourselves lucky!
