Dennis Ian – Two Figures
Similar artists: Black Country, New Road, Bright Eyes, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Americana, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Singing and what you look like don’t matter in the grand, old tradition of making pop music. That’s, at least, what people who love punk-rock try to tell themselves every day. This is supposed., after all, to be an art form open to everybody. It is supposed to be an art form where everyone can contribute things of true beauty. All of this is amazingly inspiring and beautiful, but untrue.
The human voice, in particular, is the element that has made rock bands successful or stopped them from achieving their fame. Yes, you’ll tell me about Bob Dylan, John Lydon, and Leonard Cohen. But, while nobody would trust them with singing the Star-Spangled Banner at the White House, they were great singers. And, they are singers with a great understanding of what they can approach. Freddie Mercury never covered Howlin’ Wolf, and Nick Cave hasn’t yet released a record of 80s pop-metal classics.
Dennis Ian’s Two Figures is a tune whose atmosphere presses on your neck like a doctor desperate to find a pulse. It is filled with poetry marred in darkness. It moves slowly, and threateningly like waves on the North Sea. But, its most distinguishing trait is the singing of the Danish vocalist. It’s the kind of voice that one can only assume that Nick Cave hears in his head when he reads the Old Testament. This is a voice perfectly built for this style of music and one that can’t be ignored easily. Even in our sophistication, we have to admit to being a bit shallow. Dennis Ian can sure sing the post-punk blues.
Common Goldfish – Shout Louder
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Primal Scream, Tame Impala, Stone Roses
If, like myself, you only know the great 90s dance-rock bands out of the British Isles, you may have missed out on some of the best parties known to man and you might have saved yourself a fortune in rehabilitation cost. Let’s be honest. Bands like Primal Scream sounded positively dangerous, and out to find the musical mix that partying rockstars had been after for decades. But, their dangerous sound was likely no act. Just take a look at Mr. Gillespie addressing the crowd in any of the band’s all-conquering live sets. This was not music made on good, consistent hydration alone.
Maybe all of these elements, however, helped in the madness needed to even consider that pure dance music and pure rock n’ roll could join hands. The concept, naturally, will not seem at all foreign to modern listeners. However, truly, at the time it must have felt as if Primal Scream and the baggy, Manchester groups stumbled on to some kind of golden fairy dust.
If, like me, you only experienced the dance parties that the concerts of these bands provoked, you may still be in luck. Common Goldfish’s Shout Louder sounds like music made in Manchester’s 1990s, on a summer evening, before these kinds of sounds had truly taken over the world. It’s the sound of music obsessives, of collectors ready to spend their last dime on songs with great grooves, and on proper clothes. This is music created as a fever dream for those willing to venture out into the darkness of the clubs to find something special.
