
Totally Cashed – Sports Drink
Genre: Punk, Hard Rock
Music’s not always easy to appreciate. There are many bands for which you need context in order to appreciate. “Well, this was revolutionary when it came out.” There are some bands that your friends have to force you into listening and, perhaps, you’ll eventually thank them later. More still, there are groups whose work is so complex and layered with possible interpretations that a minimum amount of time is required in order to properly comprehend.
Then there are bands, usually of the garage-rock variety and punk, that you understand whether you’ll enjoy from the very first seconds. It’s love or hate at first listen. Punk has a tendency to cut through all of the other concerns and make them superfluous. After all, the original punks were just teddy boys and rockers that had missed out on Elvis and the shiny 1950s. Punk-rock is certainly not a marathon. It’s a sprint to the end.
Totally Cashed’s Sport Drink takes the philosophy of brevity as a virtue of rock music to heart. They also don’t allow you any time to consider whether you like the band or not. You’ll know from the very first seconds of the choppy guitars and the attitude-filled vocals. As for us, we knew we loved this from the moment the singer uttered the words “freaking out”. This is the sound of pop music being kidnapped and made to soundtrack a booze-filled, good night out. With these kinds of melodies and their energy, it’s hard to deny appreciation for Totally Cashed.
De’Wayne ft Grandson – Good Mood
Genre: Alternative Rock
Similar Artists: The Ramones
Modern music is the closest thing to chemical refreshment without the liver failure, or need to worry about detox bills. It’s strange that nobody talks more about it as a reliable alternative to chemical refreshments. Turn on music from a faraway land and it’s impossible not to feel that you are somehow there. Invest in good headphones and listen in on a variation of space rock and it’s easy to confuse your brain that really you are a spaceman.
Then, of course, there is punk-rock. No other modern style of music packs as much energy and demands the same from the audience. In the instance when it really works, it can act as a shot in the vein, a double espresso and a satisfying sugar rush all in one. And, you don’t even need to venture down darkened alleys in bad neighbourhoods to obtain it. If this isn’t a readily available remedy to most of life’s problems, I don’t know what is.
De’Wayne & Grandson’s Good Mood is so confident that you will embrace its punk-rock outlaw status that it begins by lifting the intro to The Ramones’ Teenage Lobotomy. The rest of the tune is a maddening, nicely produced dash of swaggering bravado. This is the kind of music that they play in movies during the big car chase scene. It’s the sort of tune blasting while you enjoy a night out on the town. And, De’Wayne successfully makes the kind of tune that commands your full attention.