Griffin Benton – Broken Pieces
A lot of people ended up loving the alternative rock, indie and pop-punk bands of the 90s and 2000s. A lot of people kept loving them in the decades that followed. Many gave their time, listening to songs and attending concerts. Millions of people gave their hard-earned cash to these misfit musicians and turned them into wealthy entrepreneurs.
But for every ten fans they got, these musicians also got one or two fierce critics who couldn’t accept that what had, essentially, been underground music had become such an efficient tool for monetary profit. Some of these people wished the music would be harder to understand and more difficult to love. Are the ten people who loved it right, or the one who hated it?
Never underestimate the potential that a band has to make a lot of people happy with their work. This is what Griffin Benton might have been thinking, making “Broken Pieces,” a song that has strong echoes of large 90s alternative rock but also a powerful callback to the rock sounds that have been popular on mainstream radio in recent years. While the song does call to mind Arctic Monkeys or Royal Blood, consider how many listeners naturally look for some kind of familiarity to guide them. Besides, if this achieves a similar success, it’ll be a rocking tune that does it.
Ethan Samuel Brown – Am I American?
Will Americans get their only special passport once they pass through the Pearly Gates? If they don’t, they’ll certainly complain about it. Sure, this hasn’t been promised explicitly. But, you can imagine how all of the information that’s been delivered would have the people think automatic entry and a special status as Citizen of Heaven is owed to them.
But, oh, woe is us. Election season is upon us again. And while this year has set up the electoral process in nearly half of the countries of the world, the grand finale will, naturally, involve the U.S. and a title soon to be branded “The King of the World,” a pageant sponsored by “X,” with X being a yet-to-be-decided Arab or Russian Oil company.
It’s pretty confusing stuff. And while nobody has an answer, Ethan Samuel Brown’s “Am I American?” echoes the sense of turmoil, and futility. The song is inspired by one tragic event, a Nashville terrorist attack handled by a distressed, confused American citizen worn out by conspiracy theories and the news cycle. The psycho-country sounds of Brown’s music express that perfectly.
