Leonardo’s Robot – Honey
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Modest Mouse, Pavement, Tropical F*ck Storm
Rock music is a blood sport. And, we like it this way. It’s cute when it’s cute. It’s beautiful when it’s dirty and nasty. The bands that reveal their own anxieties and bizarre excitement do all of us a favor. They tell things we’d never dare or be able to.
This is why seeing oldie bands play their big hits for one last paycheck is sad. Sure, they need the money. Yeah, you’ll go give it to them. But, just like visiting someone in a retirement home, you can’t help but feel that the interaction is something that does them more good than you.
Leonardo’s Robot sound match fit, with their wits about them and ready to catch a punch on the chin if it should come to this. Honey is a knee-jerk rock number featuring clever, rippling lyrics and guitars that sound like they’re being tuned while the song is playing. It’s really good. There’s a resemblance to Modest Mouse, perhaps, but only to the minority of their very best songs. Leonardo’s Robot makes drinking music for people who wear suits on a weekend.
David Kirby – The Shipping Forecast
Genre: Pop Punk, Indie Folk, Folk
Similar artists: Frank Turner, Beans on Toast, Will Varley, Ramshackle Glory
Honesty won’t get very far in most aspects of life, but art seemed to be an exception. Of course, this is true when artists have the time to focus almost exclusively on their work. Naturally, the public also needs to be used to the virtues of honesty.
But, modern artists are required to be business people. Streaming service moguls encourage them to release work consistently. Record labels encourage their artist to tour and sell merch. PR companies encourage artists to pay for promotion.
How good were musicians at this in the past? Just don’t ask the Fab Four about managing Apple.
David Kirby’s as honest on The Shipping Forecast as a man with nothing left to lose, or the rare example of someone without any skin in the game. The folk-punk poetry of Kirby is delivered not as if addressing the world, but rather the writer’s best friend. It’s a drunken confession and cautionary tale for being that get excited about bad news.
hell yeah.