Hipflask Virgins x Ruben Seabright – Hubris (conquest)
They say that a true inventor is the kind of person who can just stroll across a crowded street and notice a thousand things that are missing and then go to his shed, build them and sell them to people. Yes, the inventor always sees an opportunity, isn’t afraid of getting their hands dirty and isn’t scared of giving their accountant more money to count at the end of the month.
There used to be plenty of inventors in rock music. But most of the ones who could have carried on in their footsteps have now opted to get degrees and real jobs. Oh, our loss!
Maybe they could have come up with a few creative ideas for the modern rock single, what to do with the space once reserved for a guitar solo and, of course, the rock opera?
Most rock operas miss a couple of things – the excitement and the guitar solos. Hipflask Virgins x Ruben Seabright’s work promises to deliver those things and not give you a headache while you concentrate on what it all really means. “Hubris (conquest)” is a stoner rock anthem. It could, indeed, be about the apocalypse, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use your lighter to light up or encourage the band to slide into Act III.
Liverpool Alligator Park – BRAVADO
There aren’t many rockstar songs that contain self-examination. After all, for many of the people who managed to become rock stars, the whole appeal was that of not having to answer to anyone. The closest classic rock got to answering for the performers’ sins are tunes like “Beth” or “Turn the Page” and the jury’s still out on whether those are any good.
The thing is that most rockstars aren’t great to the people around them. The truth is that the people trying their hardest to become rock stars are even worse. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in rooms with people who’d played five concerts between them and who treated themselves as British royalty and demanded that everyone else treat them the same way.
The excellently named Liverpool Alligator Park have managed to come up with a song of self-examination that doesn’t sound self-pitying or dull. “BRAVADO” is a charged indie-rocker about being a jerk to those around you and about displaying an exaggerated self-importance. It’s a song about all the people who play in bands and wear sunglasses in dark nightclubs. The ragazzi in Liverpool Alligator Park promise that this will never be them.
