Dallas Ugly – Born Crying
Similar artists: Wilco, HAIM, Big Thief, Shannon & The Clams, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
Genre: Folk rock, Americana, Alt Country
The vast majority of well-known songs are either in love or being depressed because they’ve fallen out of love with you. There are simply not enough honest, clever songs are about being miserable for no reason and being somewhat right for it. Dallas Ugly are here to tell you that it’s alright, it’ll work out in the end, and to supply the world with what it is lacking.
Of course, the songs of this type that do exist are mostly found on the playlists and within the record collections of music critics. They tend to appreciate this music not just because it is smartly put together and well-performed. They also appreciate the fact that there are others whose lives do not revolve around romantic relationships like the pop songs prophesized.
Dallas Ugly’s “Born Crying” sounds like a modern-day Roy Orbison song, but without the girl and without the towering falsetto. Instead, there’s humour to this that is very much of the age. Dallas Ugly know their audience, acknowledge their struggles, and deliver this pleasantly light indie-rock song to comfort them through the many cold, lonely nights.
Jonathan Feinberg – The Ballad of Johnny Stripes
Similar artists: XTC, The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra
Genre: Classic Rock, 90s Rock
Jonathan Feinberg is a man who has absorbed great songwriting the way that your front lawn sponged rain. He’s now prepared to write a tune about practically any topic and will try to make it good, too. Who in their mind would still be willing to insist that this is the era of AI creativity?
Feinberg is not the first songwriter to break with convention in such a way. David Bowie or John Lennon used to jumble up words and see if they could come up with a song. They Might Be Giants provided songs through a Dial-a-Song service. And you can’t possibly imagine that Bob Dylan is aware of all the songs he has written.
“The Ballad of Johnny Stripes” is a tune dedicated to a cat and composed with the do’s and don’t of power-pop in mind. Resonant guitars and shimmering melodies are the tune’s calling card. They help create a kind of teenage orchestral piece. It’s all sweet and should make us hopeful that humans haven’t lost the war on creativity to cheap computer labour just yet.
