Lewca x Sean Buckley – I’m Alright
We’ve reviewed Lewca before. If you think that in the time that has elapsed the man has grown up or managed to get himself together, you will be happy to learn that this is not the case. If anything, he has found partners to share in his beer-guzzling day-to-day rituals.
Now, this is not an indictment. Oh, no! As someone that has practically lived off beer and a strong regimen of guitar-rock, I find the honesty of the songwriting endearing. Rock stars always try to make themselves appear more interesting than they are, but they are rarely even good for a pint. Not Lewca.
I’m alright also with the artwork that displays, what else, but a glass of lager, finds Lewca and Buckley back out on the town and rowdy. Don’t worry, they’re likely a bigger menace to themselves than society at large. Fortunately for us, they manage to remember everything well enough to document it properly in this modern punk-rock gem. It’s a much better representation of Britain than anything the big wigs might consider sending over to Eurovision.
Witch Daughter – The Chamber
On Alt77, we love gentle, sophisticated music, the kind that could accompany one through hard times, through journeys of self-discovery, or through drinking your routine second cup of coffee of the morning. Sensibility has done a lot for modern music, however, it shines in particular because it chooses to ignore the bedrock on which rock was built.
The very first rockers were described as wild men, con artists, and nut jobs. Many became millionaires and with an appetite for characterized the way in which they ran their careers, proceeded to wreck the fortune they had been given. Rock has always, for better or worse, been characterized by the hunger of those making it. It leads to cathartic and memorable songs, and to the kind of ego-driven, ambitious monsters that the music industry has created.
No other sound best represents this than the distorted electric guitar. Witch Daughter’s The Chamber is the kind of song that boils over with the kind of vital, primitive energy that defines rock. It’s an exploration of instincts and the search for meaning. It finds a good balance between pop melodies and grunge rock dynamics. It does all of this using the traditional guitar, bass and drums combo. And, in doing that, it helps remind us of just why this formula has served us so well for so very long.
