Occupants – Relaxer
Genre: Punk, Alternative Rock
Occupants fight against polite pop-rock music with the kinds of songs that would get you locked up in certain countries.
Almost a third of U.S. citizens suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder. The stats are likely even higher in other, even less friendly parts of the world, where such things are not measured or even talked about. But other than the cheesy horror movie industry, entertainment rarely caters to the particular tastes of these people.
The pop-rock music that ends up filling radio stations’ programming and gets people to pile up in a studio is usually fixated on positive affirmations. That’s all well and good, but Coldplay or Imagine Dragons won’t exactly have the right words or the appropriate energy to speak to you in times of trouble.
Occupants’ “Relaxer” sounds like music made for people who are experiencing both a panic attack and a burst of exuberance at the same time. It’s punk music for people forced to take busy commutes, go to rotten jobs, or be required to have terrible housemates. It’s a sound of dread and frustration, occasionally balanced by the prettiest of melodies. It’s a sound that should speak to the many who worry about today and tomorrow and who rarely are given a soundtrack to their lives.
JOYLESS – Figure It Out
Similar artists: FIDLAR, Bad Nerves, White Reaper, Death By Unga Bunga, Gender Roles
Genre: Surf Rock, Pop Rock, Garage Rock
JOYLESS provide a brilliantly sunny and exciting image of their native Norway. Even if that’s not exactly the truth all of the time, their music carries enough weight to have you believe.
The countries that were early to embrace electronic pop songs and experimental textures into the tunes that became national hits are also among the first to get rid of them. Perhaps there’s only so long that you can listen to a singer murmuring words about whales and mountains over the sound of synths.
It’s hardly a secret that music fads seem to move in cycles. The Scandinavian countries have always had a thriving, cutting-edge music scene. It’s known, in particular, for a willingness to push sonic boundaries and for an almost blessed sense of melody writing. But now it’s returned to basics and reembraced the foundations of rock music.
JOYLESS produce an exciting mix of classic and modern rock with their single “Figure It Out.” The fact that this may all be part of an elaborate Nordic ploy to reintroduce rock n’ roll into the pop charts is something that we can’t help but welcome. Regardless, and contrary to their name, JOYLESS are a band that knows how to use familiar guitar and drum strategies to create a brilliantly sunny sound that begs to be replayed.
