Riot Spears – Devil & the Sea
Well, Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder certainly meant well. They were kids who’d grown up on the punk ethos who, in the spell of a few short years, had been thrust into the unforgiving glare of the media spotlight. Their bands’ music was inescapable and was thus made to sell the products of any company who would whip out the cash to promote the MTV events and festivals where the grunge bands would play.
Now, how did that work? There’s some sweetness and some tragedy to that story. In terms of anarchic, anti-capitalist messages featured in mainstream media, Robert Plant was right. The U.S. finally had its punk. Naturally, it didn’t last long. The post-grunge host of bands were starring at the corporate endorsements like a man dying of thirst might stare at an oasis. Creed, Nickelback, Bush, or Disturbed rode the grunge sound to the parody-like commercial peak.
The original grunge figureheads, of which few are left standing, might finally smile knowing that their message, convoluted as it was, had a true impact in the world. Many groups were formed for the right reasons.
Riot Spears is one of these bands and contrary to what the name might have you believe, the trio is not merely a vehicle for protest. They write good songs, they know their dynamics, and Devil & the Sea could right away make it on to your grunge playlist.
Burying Giants – Stormy Seas
Regardless of where in the world you live, it’s highly likely that society tends to look down on a milksop, somebody crying their days away. It’s not that there isn’t enough trouble anywhere in the world at any point for this to be unwarranted. No, it is possible because we like to encourage optimism as a kind of self-hypnosis. We give awards to winners, more than we give support to those who are in the sad position of really needing it.
Because of that, art is the only real place where these people can say what they mean, cry as much as they like, and have others share in their grief. If anything, classic folk music is built around feelings of hurt, longing, estrangement.
Built on a foundation of ethereal vocals and elegantly picked acoustic guitar string Burying Giants’ Stormy Seas is this kind of song. It’s a tune that seems born to soundtrack the everyday aches of the world and goes a long way to capture just that.
