BOMBEI.exe – clear conscience (feat. Belis)
Similar artists: Skrillex, 100 gecs, Beach House, my bloody valentine, Slowdive
Old-timers love to wax poetically about the music that was being made when they were teenagers. Many would go so far as to claim that it was that kind of music, and no other variety, that was the very best ever made. Some of them have to be right. But it doesn’t change the fact that many of these folks would rather no other kind of music ever be made.
BOMBEI.exe’s music is about as modern as the collective panic over AI taking over our lives or global warming. This is music consciously meant to take on boards almost solely modern influences and, in doing so, shake off any of the old guard that might complain about the lack of solos or whether the artist has heard The Grateful Dead or not.
Rock n’ roll has violently removed any other genres through the ages but has been getting soft. BOMBEI.exe’s “clear conscience” a tune featuring Belis, is absolutely ruthless in its attempt to cut out the past like some malignant disease. The only concession to the past is a love for ethereal shoegaze music. It’s an overly produced tune. But this is done on purpose. It sounds like it would belong in a triple-A video game. It’s music for a hyper-real imaginary world. And, for the moment, it’s the future.
Big Wreck – Summerlong
Genre: Alternative Rock
There is something about people who possess an ungodly amount of talent that makes their peers want to either hate them with a passion or proclaim their eternal love to them. There’s little wiggle room and no space for compromise.
This kind of attitude is particularly bizarre when it comes to rock n’ roll, a type of music that, we’ve been told, anyone can play.
Well, it doesn’t hurt, certainly, if you can also make use of considerable ability, something that has served Big Wreck well throughout what we can now safely label as a “legendary career” without much protest.
Of all the groups that have flirted with the dynamics of grunge music, Big Wreck are one of the very few that have advanced the art form. They’ve done so by not playing up to the subgenre’s classic tropes. No, instead, the Ian Thornley-fronted group has kept adding layers of information to a style that they pretty much mastered on their 1997 debut.
Where does this all leave us today? Big Wreck’s “Summerlong” is a song that will please rock fans who like to spend time engaging with their music and who’ve long ago opted to lose sight of passing trends. Some new musical elements are introduced, too, including synth lines and vocal harmonies that bring to mind 1980s pop. Is it a winner? Well, to get back to my original point, it never hurts to have talent, and, as most alternative rock listeners know, Thornley is one of the rock singers who can work with just about any material. Big league stuff!
