Lucky Kilmartin – Out of Touch
Similar artists: Big Star, Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, Neil Young, The Lemon Twigs
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock
During the electoral season, politicians used to go out kissing babies, helping grannies cross the street and playing basketball in the park with strangers. They couldn’t afford not to be liked. During that period, they were part of whatever religion you wanted them to be in, they loved their families, and smiled their toothy grin whenever the opportunity presented themselves.
New politicians don’t want to be liked by everyone. In fact, if you hate them, that’s alright. Someone who is very different from you will then want to vote for them. Times have changed. The only ones who still need to be liked at all costs are pop singers and songwriters. They can’t afford the bad press. Their job is to make people smile.
Lucky Kilmartin is funny, a bit desperate and has a touch of deep melancholy hanging about. But Kilmartin still needs to hear you sing. “Out of Touch” is a gallows humor singalong, one in which the singer proclaims that our day and age are “a boring way to die.” The track succeeds in being both clever and entertaining. Yes, the pop singer made you like ‘em again, but they had their reasons for trying so hard.
Your Westies – Soft and Slow
Similar artists: Alex Turner, Angel Olsen
Genre: Indie Rock, Dream Pop
We all grow up, but just the vast majority of us get old and mellow out. It’s unrealistic that we should ask anything else of our rockstars. Not everyone is Iggy Pop, and, frankly, that kind of regimen might kill any regular human who attempts it. Nah, it’s better to let nature do its thing and turn fiery guitar players into balladeers.
The good news is that the audience is not much different from the people crafting the songs. They, too, naturally tend to drift from wanting to jump off the walls on a Saturday night to wanting to stay in with a glass of wine and a book of poetry. It’s melancholy that time, and getting your heart broken will do to you. Modern renaissance men like Alex Turner, who’ve spent time in the lizards’ lounge den, know best.
Your Westies makes music similar to grown-up Alex Turner. Their deal is melancholy and how to spend your time while you’re feeling it “Soft and Slow.” At any other time, this would be a retro throwback to the age of Frank Sinatra and cocktail singers. But it is not in 2024. It’s an indie-pop number. It’s a sound that most fans will recognize when they hear it and an emotion that most of a certain age will start recognizing as well.
