Pixel Grip – Pursuit
It’s always dangerous, if you’re trying to be a critic of anything, to know too much about the subjects you’re reviewing. Knowing what to expect, which boxes to stick them into, what artists your subjects are ripping off, makes for a pretty predictable experience for the reviewer. Boredom naturally follows if that is the case.
This is especially true for music, even for some of the best new tracks being released today. At the core of it, the vast majority of guitar music, especially, is a copy of a copy, however well the execution.
Now, the same can’t really be said about Pixel Grip. They’re strange, surprising, and a bit uncomfortable to listen to. That’s perfect! The great Nick Kent wrote lovingly about the early punk bands and was attacked by Sid Vicious as a token of respect.
I feel the same apprehension of talking about Pixel Grip. There’s is a mixture of lo-fi production, sweaty dance music, and a freak scene that occasionally includes an interest in the occult. The moment we’re not surprised, or shocked by our music is the moment we might want to pack it in. Pixel Grip provides some of the conflict we need.
Farees – “Y’all Don’t Know What’s Goin On”
The thing about protest songs is that they can get to sounding a tad preachy. Well, that’s just fine and dandy as long as they’ve got wisdom worth sharing. The thing about modern protest songs, for the most part, is that they tend to focus on issues related, almost exclusively, to Western, modernized country.
Many of these issues are real and have an impact on a lot of people. When compared to much of the rest of the world, though, they pale in comparison in terms of brutality and sheer hurt inflicted on regular people. Most of these bulletins are missing from the modern news cycles.
Italian artist Farees decries the world’s ignorance towards the suffering of people from regions where suffering is the norm. “Y’all Don’t Know What’s Goin On” makes it plain and clear that the revolutions will no be televised unless they happen in rich countries, where they’ll be broadcast 24/7 and in HD.
