Go For The Gold – Animal
Go For The Gold knows how to strike up a dialogue. But they’re looking for the right people. Those who’d rather chat about the weather or the price of milk going up need not apply. Those who, on the other hand, are willing to take a chance and start weeping on a stranger’s shoulder are welcome. It’s a serious world out there, and there just ain’t enough to worry about nonsense.
Of course, this is a relatively unusual approach for modern pop-punk bands. Most of these groups believe that they know what potential fans desire. They imagine that what’s being demanded are songs about good times, fun, and charming misadventures. They trust that in the absence of subject material for songs, a few fart and dick jokes. Everyone’s in for a chuckle, right? But do we really have the time?
Nah, time is a luxury Go For The Gold aren’t willing to test out. “Animal” is a pop-punk song that purposely recalls the bad times without dressing them up. The bad times, if the song is to be believed, feel just a moment away. They never disappeared, never moved further away. What else is there to lose? Go For The Gold make emotional, melody-friendly pop-punk. And the band’s going for it full steam ahead. This ain’t the place to make promises or to waste the days away. Only serious talks will do!
Big fish – Ta din raket
Living in the past takes a good deal of commitment. But you’ll be rewarded for all of your hard work. There are reasons to trick your mind that you’re actually living a few decades back and still wondering what miracles the 2020s might bring.
For one thing, you should know what to expect. You’ve seen the good times come and go. You’ve seen dictators rise and fall. And you know that there’s a time for everything and nothing lasts for too long.
On the other hand, the terrible thing is that…well, you know what to expect. You know how bad things can get. You know that for all their ridiculousness, dictators can cause unspeakable damage to the world.
You couldn’t have expected the new U.S. administration’s attacks on Europe to go unnoticed in the Old World, right? Big Fish takes its new-wave-inspired retro-rock and uses it to take aim at the American president and the very rich people bankrolling him. “Ta din raket” is hilarious, punchy, and very much the protest song we needed. But it’s all bittersweet. Just when do things get better? The past ought to tell you.
