Swallow The Rat – Cave
Similar artists: Protomartyr, FACS, Metz
Genre: Post-Punk, Shoegaze, Alternative Rock
There are some people who never learn to trust others. It’s rare that these people end up in rock bands, but when they do, the results can be spectacular. This is, after all, an era that has taught us to trust just as little confidence in our well-meaning rock star as in our corrupt politician trying to get into office.
Swallow The Rat sound like the kind of people who don’t believe anything unless it is proven to them beyond a shadow of a doubt. Bringing this attitude to songwriting is an odd but interesting choice. Guitar songs, you’d expect, are made to convince you of things and get you out to buy stuff. Not here, though.
Swallow The Rat’s “Cave” feels like the soundtrack to our daily confusion and nagging feeling that someone is playing a trick on us. Musically, this manages to blend the angry, spoken-word vocals of post-punk with layered, shoegaze guitars. It’s a good blend and a reminder not to trust in anything unless you absolutely need to do it.
DINNERSWORTH – Lonely
Similar artists: The Wonder Years, Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties, Dan Campbell, Spanish Love Songs, Say Anything
Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock
If you’re of the disposition to check out the interview of a famous pop star, prepare to hear an unbelievable sob story. You’ll learn about how to they had to play music on the streets, how their cat had to be sold to buy their first guitar, or about the heartbreak that inspired their biggest hits. Now, I know that almost all of that is untrue, but I am almost positive that Dinnersworth’s confessions are factual.
Just like Elon Musk can buy himself anything except for a working sense of humor, so pop stars can invent anything about themselves but are unable to convince the public that they have a personality. Most of them are true freaks – people without an interesting past, funny stories, or interests outside of their media empires.
DINNERSWORTH’s “Lonely” is confessional lo-fi guitar music for the people that songs aren’t usually written about. That includes the songwriter. Rather than shaping rhythms, hooks, or chords to sound most pleasing, this Minneapolis songwriter writes like somebody who wants to make sure that they break your heart the very first time that they meet you. Best of all, it’s interesting.
