Moviola – Go With You
Genre: Indie Folk, Americana, Slowcore
Bob Dylan is often asked about his talent for songwriting. To what does he attribute it? How does he maintain it? How can others learn to do the same? While he usually gives playful answers meant to confuse more than to enlighten, there is one that makes sense. He says that his songs are built on good foundations, ones that people can’t see, but they appreciate nonetheless.
In other words, it is what the great writer leaves out that informs the quality of his work. We all like to moan and complain. Nobody does more than me. Songwriters are, particularly, pleased to tell their trouble to the world. They get upset when the world doesn’t react in the way that they had hoped.
There needs to be something underneath the suffering. Something like on Moviola’s Go with you. Sure, this is song features moaning and complaining quite prominently. However, it feels like someone bemoaning their luck after an incredibly intense argument that, were it to be adapted to film, would take up most of the second act. I don’t know what’s going on with this Ohio group. But, it looks like it hurts and it sounds like we should be interested.
Dana and the Wolf – Candidates
Genre: Americana, Indie Rock, Indie Pop
Now that rock n’ roll isn’t exactly a concern with which the president of the U.S.A. or any offshoot of the PMRC, fans of the style prefer living in the past. Doing so also means, often, placing their heads in the sand about what is currently popular.
And, while hearing some of the music being pushed by labels through mall speakers and car radios tuned into Top 40 stations might make you want to agree, there’s value in keeping up with the times. Love ain’t what it used to be. People, especially young ones know it. And, they depend on their pop music, their advertisements, their TV shows to talk to them about it.
Going viral takes not only luck but, without a doubt, the capacity to tap into something essential about the times. Dana and the Wolf’s mash-up of pop sounds and lyrics finding a balance between having a committed relationship and dealing with a myriad of potential other love interests feels like a cute, but a perverse twist on pop themes. Candidates is an alt-pop song through and through.
