Cynthia Welch – Painted Lies
They’ve got a formula for everything these days and enough people willing to pay for it. Business is going great for gurus promising to help you lose weight, bake industry-standard marble cakes, or levitate through the air.
Perhaps that’s why so many young musicians begin their journey by learning the blues and start writing their first song immediately after learning three chords. And, guess what? You put one of their compositions into an online genre detector, and it’ll say “Blues approved.”
But, even someone not born in the Mississippi Delta can tell you that the blues is more than just a set of chords and blue notes. It’s usually something as tortured and heartfelt as Cynthia Welch’s music.
That’s not to say that “Painted Lies” is strictly a blues number. It’s not the kind of tune that requires endless soloing by your drunken uncle who really likes Stevie Ray Vaughan.
No, there’s anger and hurt captured between the lines of “Painted Lies” that makes this a fantastic song, a tune for blue hearts everywhere. Welch is committed to telling the truth, not merely using a formula.
The Conscious Outlaws – Figure This Out
Not to get too cynical about it, but there’s a very good chance that the world has all of the songs it needs, you know. Sure, there have been plenty of ridiculous bands, some of which have sold millions, that nobody will care about in a few years.
But, then again, there have also been sufficiently strong musical groups and talented songwriters to provide us with material deemed by many to be “classic.” That’s why every new song has to compete with “All Along the Watchtower” or “Heart-Shaped Box.”
Then again, knowing what works is a major advantage in any storming of castles. It means that you can set up a strategy based on facts and data, not just hunches. This is precisely how The Conscious Outlaws use the influence of classic rock.
The first thing to notice about the single “Figure This Out” is just how smoothly this would fit on a playlist of 90s alt-rock singles or on a festival stage dedicated to that kind of music. And, while this is a song about the pressures of finding the right solution to problems, The Conscious Outlaws are doing better than most by employing musical tactics that immediately make listening to their song easy and fun.
