
Deer Fang – Low Tide
Not all the stereotypes about people who listen to rock music are true. Your typical middle-of-the-road movie, as most of them are these days, will have no shame in showing a scene in which a rocker with long, dirty hair and bizarre opinions about society listens to their music while sitting in a dungeon-like apartment and plotting vengeance against those who have wronged him.
But that’s not right. While it is currently far from the most popular genre in the world, rock is enjoyed daily by millions of well-adjusted, creative, or just plain ordinary folks. They enjoy it when eating their cornflakes in the morning and listening to them on their work commute. For most of them, it is just a sound with which they have become familiar. And, for a minority, it is an art form beaming down important information about trauma and how to deal with it. The latter may be the minority, but the intensity with which they interact with music makes them the most recognisable type of fan.
Deer Fang’s “Low Tide” is a well-put-together rock song that brings to mind the sounds of the late 2000s together with the emotional of the lyrics belonging to that period. What Deer Fang does really well is provide a punk and metal-inspired propulsion to the instrumental parts and contrast it with the bittersweet, confessional tone of the vocals. It’s a song about overcoming mental fatigue and sadness. But, like the best songs of this type, a grandiose noise pushes the song’s message. You can certainly enjoy this with your morning breakfast, but you might be better off with the importance that it deserves.
The Cause Of Depression – Narcissistic
People going to the office or running for office in this miserable global election year are all expected to look nice, dress up, and look like they haven’t returned from a truth-seeking trip through the Amazonian jungle. Ideally, they should look familiar enough that you could confuse them for anybody else and distinctive enough that you’ll remember to vote for them or give them a raise.
However, the people who are truly having a wonderful time look ridiculous, have stupid smiles on their faces, and generally appear to be unemployable. Folks who experience some kind of spiritual epiphany look as if they’ve gone insane. And, the ones who are truly moved by some great internal suffering, by something that’s been stirring at their heart, look like they’re possessed.
You can’t experience life at its best or worst while keeping your suit clean and neatly pressed. The Cause Of Depression, alt-rock, post-hardcore band playing music as if acting out a psychodrama would never dream of trying to do that. “Narcissistic” is the kind of music you won’t be able to ignore if you’re in the immediate vicinity while it is being played. It would be like ignoring a man rolling on the floor, screaming. But, then again, there may be more that the man has to say and of greater worth than the guy in the suit running up to his office. You gotta get a bit of dirt on you to move anything, yourself included.