The Mod On – Treibsand
Genre: Post-Punk, New wave, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Einstürzende Neubauten, Ideal, Die Ärzte, Blixa Bargeld, Joy Division
The Mod On seem to confuse gentle Switzerland for wild Berlin on their confrontational single Treibsand. Or, have the tides shifted?
Listen, Orson Welles might owe the Swiss a belated apology. In the cinematic masterpiece of The Third Man, Welles’ character proclaims that Switzerland, in spite of 500 years of peace and relative democracy, only managed to invent the cuckoo clock.
This might compel one to believe that most Swiss are bland, but friendly dinner guests who never leave a mess behind. However, judging by some of the recent alternative music coming out of European country, there are reasons to believe that there’s a riot going, albeit an affable one.
The Mod On sound like guitar-wielding provocateurs on their single Treibsand. They echo the menacing, ramshackle sound and aesthetic of Berlin artists like Blixa Bargeld. They sound like people who only come out at night, smoke unfiltered cigarettes, and have clear opinions about the housing crisis. The Mod On’s post-punk is worth keeping an ear out for.
Fast Color – Jimmy Red
Genre: Power Pop, Lo-fi Rock, Garage Rock
Similar artists: The Kinks, Twin Peaks, Neil Young
Fast Color are determined to prove that they’re the smartest kids on the playground with their single, Jimmy Red.
Of course, the level of reverence that the modern public has for the likes of the Velvet Underground and Big Star, is proportional to the level of continued disinterest that they had for these bands while in their initial run. It wasn’t like nobody had heard them. People simply didn’t care.
Perhaps it makes sense. For all the fancy songs, these were musicians who liked to let the world know just how clever they were. The Velvets, in particular, sound like underplaying jazz musicians that have just returned from a month-long creative writing retreat out in the big city.
Fast Color seem to have been visiting the same class. Jimmy Red is a great, clever single. The trio doesn’t play a lot. But, there aren’t many bands that don’t play a lot so well. And, it’s not a lot they’re playing stupid either. Fast Color just know that beyond the optimal three chords, there isn’t much left to say.
