Felisha and the Jazz Rejects – Hymn ||
Genre: Pop Rock, Alternative Rock
I’m not sure about the myth that modern humans are smarter, more sophisticated, or more capable of meeting challenges than their ancestors. Sure, we can all use inventions that make various aspects of modern life easier. But it’s not like you or I invented them. Most of us would have trouble setting up an old alarm clock to ring at the desired time.
We’re certainly not above the need for something holy. Now, in the absence of religion, something that’s being chased out of Western countries at a rate that few priests could have anticipated, we need something to replace it. We all need something instead. The good news is that the vast majority of us can choose what that is. Some of us are looking for holiness in regular things.
The excellently christened Felisha and the Jazz Rejects’s “Hymn ||” is part religious ceremony soundtrack and part theatrical performance. There’s something over-the-top to this, but that’s precisely what most of us need throughout the day. If it hits your fancy, the music should encourage you to feel that there are greater things out there than your regular morning coffee and sandwich. With so much passion and mystery driving these vocals, there has to be!
Blunda – Lost Without You
Similar artists: Big Black Delta, The Cure, Beach House, Cocteau Twins
Genre: Indietronica, Dream Pop
Why don’t art-pop, goth-rock or progressive groups get radio hits nowadays when they managed to do just that in the past? The cynical might answer that such musical genres have simply overstayed their welcome and are now created simply for nostalgia’s sake. But that would be to oversimplify an answer to a generally intriguing question.
Many of us would like to assume that it may all have something to do with the fact that pop music nowadays tries to avoid weighty themes. But that is not entirely correct. Pop hits have always tended to be superficial, but exceptions always snuck through.
Another valid answer is that these bands simply don’t try to make themselves liked by enough people. Generally, this means that they do not actually write songs that have “pop hit potential” written over them. In other words, the scenarios that they come up with can’t be used by too many audience members to have them fit their lives.
Blunda tries to find the middle ground between angsty, art-goth restlessness and the simple pleasures of hearing a melancholy pop hit on the radio. That’s the goal of “Lost Without You,” and you can’t help but think that the group is trying to appeal both to the ardent record collectors and to your auntie, should she ever hear the song. The intention is good, and so is the execution. And while some additional grit wouldn’t be terrible, that might help sway the ship into one direction over the other.
