
Tiny Sun – Ageless
Similar artists: The Beatles, Wilco, Radiohead, The Zombies, Ty Segall, Rush
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Since the 1950s, more than any other art form, pop music has held the keys to influencing the public’s mood. Great pop songs can either tell you that terrible things will be alright or that mighty nice things are inevitably going to go wrong, and you’ll believe them.
Thousands of people chant sweet pop songs during sports events, political rallies, or exhibitions of nationalism. And whether their causes are justified or not, one can’t deny that at the moment that they’re singing, all of the people involved are fully immersed and in the complete belief that, along with strangers singing with them, they’ve transcended to a greater world.
Tiny Sun’s “Ageless” sounds like the king of 60s psych-pop incantation meant to convince its listeners that all will be alright, that nothing will ever hurt and that one’s fate is predetermined. It’ll be Ok! Tiny Sun achieves this on the back of Beatlesque melodies and a murky, mysterious arrangement. It’s hard not to lose your head hearing this, but it might all just be for the best.
Elephant Stone – The Imajinary, Nameless Everybody In The World
Similar artists: Yes, Genesis, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Genre: Alternative Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock
Like people who enter royalty through marriage rather than birthright, prog-rockers aren’t as generally beloved as those who dedicated their lives to classical music. For the most part, they are perceived as pompous. And this is not entirely untrue, although to only think about this might be missing the point.
More than classical musicians, the original prog-rockers did the most to preserve the virtues of competent playing, of mastery over one’s instrument. And, for a while, they made this a concern of the whole of the world, creating complex pop hits. Not just that, but their recording brought a real warmth that few musicians, even with today’s modern tools, able to recreate.
Elephant Stone’s “The Imajinary, Nameless Everybody In The World” lives in the realm of magical thinking and the quasi-spiritual belief that music can alter the universe. Best of all, just like their heroes, Yes, the band bring a really warm, earthy tone to their recording. The prog-rock group has managed to send an invitation rather than issuing a statement meant merely to impress.