
Islands – Headlines
Similar artists: The Unicorns, Father John Misty, The Shins, Vampire Weekend
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Dream Pop
Commercial artists nowadays know that time can be their greatest ally or worst enemy. Without exception, every artist operating in any style has exactly 5 seconds to impress a potential. Actually, they have less.
They could, of course, reject to subject themselves to this. The alternative might be to write angry posts on social media about how unfair the world is and how naive audiences are. Or, they could stand around hoping for a grant from the government.
But, time is running out?
The greatest pop artists of our age are fine salesmen. They’re the kinds of folks with a speech so well that they can convince you not to turn off the phone after the first awkward 5 seconds of conversation. They’re the ones that understand the formula of entertainment.
Islands’ “Headlines” is designed to get audiences over the difficult 5-second-interest hump and to keep them amused for the whole three minutes. That’s a lifetime by today’s standards, and thankfully, there are enough musical hooks, tricks, and even a bit of soulful honesty to make those who hang around for this pop aeon feel like they’ve spent their time wisely.
allblacktemples – Concepts
Similar artists: Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, alt-J, Audioslave
Genre: Post Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
At the end of the day, it is both the people who create and the people who consume that are happy to depend on a formula. After all, few people would be happy to see that their favorite bakery or coffee shop has opted to serve experimental bagels or cups of java. And the people making those wouldn’t much want to take the risk either.
Thankfully, allblacktemples haven’t received the memo, or have opted to discard it. Surely, they must know that there are many other bands trying to keep the sound 90s and 2000s alternative rock alive. And, surely, they have to know that the majority of these groups are merely happy to plagiarize the sound and style of the more famous groups.
allblacktemples’ “Concepts” is an ambitious piece, one that borrows from the coordinates provided by familiar alt-rock and one that is willing to take the music into uncharted and unsafe waters. There’s a real glee for exploration here, an enthusiasm with what the trance-like atmosphere that they create might yield. And, after giving in to the band’s musical spell, it’s easy to understand their commitment to keeping alternative music strange, and unfriendly, and to not make it easy on the listener.