Dear Misses – Shine & Glitter
Plenty of people trust preachers so much that they elect them to public office or, at the very least, ask them to guide the nation. Plenty of people will buy tickets to see mystics who, they hope, will reveal some truths about life that they cannot acquire yourself. And I bet even you look differently at a work colleague who has just returned from a holiday meant to sharpen their spiritual connection to the universe.
We love seekers, but we all wish to be on the path ourselves. Most of us, however, are busy for the vast majority of our days. There’s no time to investigate our feelings or dig deep into ancient texts that might make it easier for us to understand. That’s why we look toward the people who might’ve already done the work. Maybe they have an answer.
Don’t let the fact that the musicians who make up Dear Misses are Swiss. A lot of great music has been coming over their European mountains. “Shine & Glitter” instead sounds like the music of early explorers to North America. It sounds like people who might’ve congregated in the desert hoping to commune with some kind of higher power. There’s something ceremonial about the band’s brand of alternative rock. And, if you listen very closely, it sounds like they might’ve actually found something in that great, ancient wilderness.
Kevin Cryderman – The Night Is Coming Down
How much information do you need to understand to properly understand a message? Moviemakers and advertisement directors don’t trust that you can handle things unless they are spoon-fed to you. They don’t rely on subtlety too often. Things are either won or lost, and their productions tell you very clearly how they think you should feel.
But take away some of those elements and you might just have something more interesting and even more powerful. Radio plays have less information that they can work with than a movie production. But that makes the actors, the directors, and even the people scoring the music behind it have to work harder to place the images in your brain. Good rock bands manage to do the same things.
Kevin Cryderman’s “The Night Is Coming Down” sounds like a grungey radio play. Cryderman directs using sound and intention. The pacing of the acoustic guitar suggests action, and the vocalist’s slightly distorted, Eddie Veddersque tone lets you know that there’s gonna be some trouble soon. Best of all, the writing fits the intention, with the song delivering a beginning, a middle, and an end, all of which are compelling and dynamic. I hope that this song never has a video because the song itself does a good enough job of planting powerful images in your dream theatre.
