Ruff Majik – Who Keeps Score
OK, let’s face it. As fans of popular music, we tend to use originality as a criterion for valuing a group’s worth in the manner that best suits us. Greta van Fleet receives a lot of criticism for sounding a lot like a certain band from the 1970s. However, few of those that criticize those youngsters would get into a mile of avant-garde rock unit that most likely doesn’t resemble any sort of music that has been made before it. It’s not really just about being original then, is it?
Imitation is certainly a form of flattery, and when making the music involves a fair deal of skill, it also shows commitment. After all, bands like U2 began writing originals that so many people enjoy because of an inability to play the covers they wished to perform.
There’s no way around the fact that Ruff Majik’s Who Keeps Score could easily trick a casual fan of Queen of the Stone Age into believing this to be a long-lost track from the Era Vulgaris recording sessions. However, there’s also no denying that the South African band has managed to not just take a sound but build on it as if channelling it from another realm. It’s a creative effort for sure, not unlike some kind of sonic fan fiction. There’s grit and swagger to the song. Besides, if Josh Homme ever decides to take it easy and hire a ghost band, he’ll know where to call.
Crash Birmingham – Loosen
Nothing makes in-band dynamics quite as interesting as having relatives play in the same combo. Brothers and sisters have always managed to make groups successful. However, usually, those groups have ended in terrible feuds. Husbands and wives have also done well, but most of those bands have ended once the ink dried on the divorce papers.
Of all the possible combinations, father and daughter collaborations are among the rarest. This is, perhaps, because for as long as rock has existed, it has been a tool to annoy your old man, not one for bonding. Exceptions do exist, and the blues-rock sound is a craft that should be preserved and passed down through generations.
Crash Birmingham’s Loosen showcases the strength and agility of the father-daughter combo. Their playing is based on quick interactions in a blues format. The slide guitar sounds wild, and there is clear excitement for the pair to be sharing the musical experience.
