
Lean with the Breeze – Rise Again
Similar artists: Steely Dan, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Fleet Foxes, Fleetwood Mac
Genre: Folk rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
The debate about whether modern music or the oldies are better is pointless. A much healthier debate ought to involve questioning whether a lot of the stuff that’s on the radio qualifies as music. Like it or not, statistically speaking, each new year, pop hits have less melodic complexity, fewer analogue instruments, and prioritize innovation less than ever. They are the facts!
But before you go crying in melancholy over times in which you didn’t live, maybe there’s a way to use them to improve our current circumstances. Naturally, all of the great recordings of old, the ones that prioritised the aforementioned elements, are available. Hell, most of those artists sold their entire catalogues in their old age, so you can damn well expect them to be around for a long time. Who’s ready to learn from them?
Lean with the Breeze’s “Rise Again” is a song that stubbornly takes a look at the greatest folk-rock bands to ever have their members harmonize together and attempts to move that sound into the present. Take the word “retro” out of the occasion, and you may need to replace it with “maverick.” And while the song may or may not spark your fancy, you have to admit that hearing someone that sounds like Neil Young singing over the harmonies of folks that sound like Crosby, Stills and Nash does have its undeniable charm.
The Fourth Wall – Darkness Of Heart
Similar artists: Deerhunter, Slow Pulp, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
Genre: Shoegaze, Indie Rock
The silly dictator is mighty frightening when he doesn’t whisper a word. Nobody wants to see the second interview that a famous recluse does after coming out of retirement. Greta Garbo may have had no secrets to hide, but we won’t accept that. Mystery is a mighty, powerful thing. But nobody, not even rock bands, can hide behind it forever.
At some point, they’ll need to come out swinging. They’ll need to confess what’s really on their mind, and when doing so, they must make their instruments speak the exact same words. They can only hope they’ll break the tension with an “In the Air Tonight” drum break or a “Stairway to Heaven” drop-you-into-the-solo guitar lick. But there’s a risk there.
The Fourth Wall’s “Darkness Of Heart” splits its time between creating tension and then breaking it up with a sledgehammer. The first part of the song is marvellously sparse and creepy, with the vocals whispering over a strummed acoustic guitar. And because the band dares to make that part sound so small and wounded, the second part of the tune arrives only to tear it apart and provide a fitting conclusion. It can’t live in mystery forever, and The Fourth Wall doesn’t even want to attempt it.