Cestari – HAS THE SUN LEFT
I’m not sure what people think of when they hear “alternative rock” anymore. The first image that likely comes to mind is of an unwashed mountain climber, and the first sound they’re making involves squeezing power chords out of a distorted electric guitar.
And, while that’s all fine and good, I’m relatively sure that it was the element of surprise that helped the music pull itself out of the underground and into the mainstream lights.
Cestari is a good example of what audiences used to expect. Strange sounds, bizarre, strong structures, and performers willing to open themselves up fully and write about topics that you wouldn’t expect to make it into pop songs are the things that made many fall in love with alt-rock.
It’s a mighty interesting thing to play with expectations. And it’s a mighty brave thing for a performer to dangle a prize in front of the audience’s faces as Cestari does on “HAS THE SUN LEFT,” a song that mixes jazz and alt-rock together with the singer’s own surprising emotional detours. You keep waiting for something that doesn’t really ever come, and by the end, you learn that that was the point all along.
The Cane Project – Under the monkey tree
Old teachers do advise you to comb through folk tales for clues of how the world really used to be, or for a glimpse into what people truly thought about themselves and their peers. But if you’re not careful, you’re only going to get the children’s stories.
Dig a little deeper into the storytelling traditions of any people, and you’ll find tragedy, superstition, and an unwillingness to trust peers. In fact, some of the most famous folk tales are, most likely, inspired by murder, famine, war, and other topics, typically not recommended for children.
And, of course, the greatest of music can’t help but share a connection with all of this. Folk tales, after all, usually survive by being told in song. Listening to the music of Ireland’s The Cane Project, one can’t help but feel that you’re witnessing threads being put back together.
The Cane Project’s moody, emotional alt-rock of “Under the monkey tree” could have just as well been some Seattle band’s early 1990s single, or an ancient murder ballad. It’s music meant to stimulate your imagination by giving you just the basic coordinates and asking you to flesh out the story. Is everyone really doomed? Where are the monsters hiding? Only you can help answer that.
