Enoch Root – Oh, Violet
It used to be that even quasi-famous bands had to contend with making at least one music video. This would be, it was understood, their main promotional tool. It was a non-negotiable. And, because of this, for a long time, it was one of the things that rock bands were judged on.
Still, naturally, some rebelled against it. But it wasn’t the fact that standing in front of a camera was a chore. What many songwriters objected to was the fact that nobody who saw a music video had any reason to close their eyes, listen to the song, and picture a story in their own mind.
The fight against the listeners using their imagination is still being fought today. Most rock bands prefer to use simple formulas and easy-to-digest lyrical motifs that don’t give audiences much to work with. Enoch Root are far more ambitious than that and are writing the kind of music that should suggest an entire stage played underneath your eyelids.
The storytelling used across “Oh, Violet,” helps Enoch Root stand out. It isn’t just the lyrics about death and revival that do the trick. It’s the dynamism of the music, the way that solid technique is married to earnest emotion, and the confidence and theatricality of the vocal performance that help the song sit beyond the work done by their peers. What exactly should you hear? It really all depends on where your imagination wants to go.
Neverbody – A Demonstration
We’re all drawn toward people who seem to know more than we do. Some of us just scribble inspirational quotes across our notepads, but the majority of us fall hard. It only takes one giggling guru to get you buying airfare for some exotic land where you’re told that you can feed your body solely on sunlight and ripe fruit. What? No water?
It only takes one suit-wearing messiah throwing lines about tradition and the good old days to make the electorate want to turn them into a lifelong dictator. And, when it comes to rockstars, often, it only takes one fast gunslinger type, some modern-day Ritchie Blackmore, to make audiences think they’ve found their savior. Well, Neverbody is a trio of musicians applying for that position.
The trick to it all is that, you get the feeling while listening to Neverbody’s accomplished playing across “A Demonstration” that the musician know more than they’d like to share, that they are hoarding some kind of secret and that, if you listen hard enough, you’re going to come into contact with that truth. Well, that’s the power of music, and it’s the reward of hard work and commitment. And, if you’re simply not sold on that angle, “A Demonstration” is a mighty fine display of melodic, modern math rock.
