Darker Lighter – Open Up, Sunshine
Rock n’ roll was all about rebellion. Well, up until a few years back. It’s mostly about selling t-shirts and light beer now. And with such concerns so pressing at the moment, let’s remember why we’re all here for.
Darker Lighter knows where it all started. And the one-man Los Angeles band also knows things should be going. For Salar Rajabnik is, at the moment an act of rebellion and one that demands every ounce of energy one can muster.
Nihilism has been cool for a while Most self-respecting rockers feel they need to include it in their songs. But where does it lead to? And did all that negative play a part in the recording of your favourite albums? Nah, those people had to power themselves up in order to make that music.
This is why “Open Up, Sunshine,” with its classic, strongly rocking vibes and talk about wanting the best for oneself and holding out for someone special, might be the message that we all need. With a sound inspired by the rock idealists of the 1960s, Darker Lighter dares to dream of strongly improved times. We may all be helped by the very same exercise!
Julez and the Rollerz – Call Me Up
Your favourite stars still shine brightly in the entertainment world. Their faces feature on websites and magazines. They supposedly paid fortunes to make an appearance in shows or at supermarket openings. Everything that they wear was made by some famous fashion house out in Milan. And while most of that might be accurate, what’s also true is that some of them can’t pay their bills.
You’ll never know it, though. If there’s one thing that managers, record labels, or movie studios believe is that regular people in audiences don’t want to see others like them take on the position of “star.”
That’s not always true. Now that David Johansen has sadly passed on, it’s a good time to think of just what a music scene he and his high school friends, playing Rolling Stones riffs and dressed like beauty queens, started in a couple of small New York clubs, and then the world. They were stars! And they barely could afford cigarettes and guitar strings.
Julez and the Rollerz are as fun as any of the classic glam-rock bands and just as neatly dressed. And they won’t require anyone’s guidance or approval to play those parts either. “Call Me Up” is a confident shake-up of pop hooks and stories about love gone wrong. It’s a fun, big sound and vision that makes you want to track the band down and see it live. It’s the kind of thing that effortlessly creates a scene.
