Florntenes – The News
It’s often said that rock n’ roll is a young man’s game. But for the most part, the people who keep saying this are either A&R people or famous rock stars. Both of these types tend to be old, wrinkled and look like they’re going to have a nervous breakdown if forced to hear another loud rock song. Sure, they want young people to take over, because they need a nice lie down.
The fact is that, generally, a band’s debut album, or, in some cases, the ones made in close vicinity, are by far the group’s best work. The other fact is that most bands that do get a hit debut just end up playing the same songs their whole lives. The trick, however, is for the debut to sound so full of ideas, nervous energy, and potential to make listeners think that this run can go on forever.
There’ll be plenty of excitement from the British press when all members of it get to hear Florntenes’ “The News.” Just listen to the single and look at ‘em? Isn’t this what you expected the new indie darlings to be like? And haven’t you been expecting some new indie darlings for an awful long time? Don’t be cynical! Rejoice! “The News” is catchy, direct, and, best of all, includes no amount of overthinking. What next? The sky’s the limit.
MJ Duke – Real
It’s tempting to want to be clever. Nearly everyone wants to be asked, “What did you really mean by that?” Nearly everybody wants to sit in the corner, look mysterious and have people whisper around them theories about who they really are.
But while most rock musicians are either pretending to be undercover agents or writing lyrics so oblique that you’d need to dedicate half your life to understanding them, the world goes on, falls to pieces, and nobody seems willing to properly soundtrack it.
Only people with too much time on their hands and not enough good taste end up reading the whole of “Infinite Jest.” Smart, concerned citizens like MJ Duke are getting angry, writing slogans, and penning songs. Will that make a difference? Certainly has a better chance than holding hands and expressing your anger through playing guitar scales at top speed.
There’s no finesse to MJ Duke’s “Real.” But that’s rather the point. The world right now is quite scary and not very mysterious at all. MJ Duke sings about addiction, wars, stress, and endless crises that, whether designed or which occurred spontaneously, keep us busy, scared, and dumb. It’s a powerful song filled with the words that most punk-rockers don’t say.
