Sonny Falls – Cemeteries
Similar artists: Spoon, BRONCHO
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock
It’s the sensitive types that get bullied the worst by hard times. They are the ones who, after all, are cursed to feel the hardships and suffering of the world more than their contemporaries. There might not be anywhere to go or anything to do before they pick up a pen and a guitar and move their anxiety into the works with which others can relate. Sonny Falls does this exactly.
A great poet once claimed that walking through a cemetery is the only sure-fire way to cure a perilous depression. Morrissey’s walk to the graveyard helped the young songwriter get a better glimpse of his poetic heroes and take comfort in the morbid surroundings. The modern indie-pop poets share a similar affinity.
Sonny Falls’ “Cemeteries” is a gentle lo-fi travelogue through macabre territories. It is led by the singer’s mellow vocal tone and lyrics about gasping at life and everything, anything it has to offer. It’s a light musical affair that balances the deep, personal lyrics and a nice leftfield pop experiment.
Jake’s Mistakes – 3 AM
Similar artists: The Urge, Fate DeStroyed, Sumo Cyco
Genre: Post-Punk
Modern music’s supposed to be good for a little dance. Who doesn’t need to shake their limbs now and then? But why do music fans reach for their favorite songs and genres a few hundred times a day as a nicotine-addicted chain smoker lunges for a cigarette?
Perhaps it’s merely because they want to make sure that they can change their consciousness and view the world around them differently. This is what bands like Jake’s Mistakes try to do.
The point is not merely to make goth-rock that features a hooky beat, the kind of music that you can dance around to while wearing your best black cape. This is something that works, sure. But great, barreling vibrations like this also work as little mantras swimming around your brain.
Jake’s Mistakes “3 AM” is Halloween party music just as much as it is a dark meditation jingle. It shouldn’t take long for the pulsating drums and the ghoulish, Peter Murphy-like vocals to make an impression on you. And what a gift that is.