Malaphor – Frogs In The Pot
People rarely tend to listen when you pester them with facts. Truth, as it turns out, has very little to do with whether they believe one thing or another. In fact, the more nuggets of wisdom you throw at them, the more they’re likely to find something heavy to throw back at you.
That’s why the whole business of going out in the street, dressing as if you’ve just got a holiday from your job as an executioner, and shouting about how the world is going to end is unlikely to ever work, even if all you’re saying checks out.
People love to laugh and smile. And, they especially like to do that sort of thing when it comes to the kind of things that scare the wits out of them. That’s why Malaphor brings humour and quirkiness to the mix while getting people scared straight.
In fact, Malaphor’s “Frogs In The Pot,” feels like the Las Vegas show tune version of an indie-rock song. It’s awfully playful, but direct in its lyrics. The world might be burning up, bombs may be flying over our heads, and, yes, we don’t even stop to notice that anymore because it’s the norm. “Frogs In The Pot” is a protest tune done in costume. Those are the best kind!
Alejandra O’Leary – Trouble
Somewhere on the way from the 1990s alt-rock boom to today, musicians have stopped telling personal stories. Of course, they did. They became rock stars or, at the very least, aspired to be ones.
Rockstars, we’ve been told many times, are not regular people. They don’t have the same troubles as all of us do, and if they encounter them, they get someone on the payroll to take care of them.
And that is why, perhaps, freed from the constant stress that mere mortals have to contend with, they simply have fewer stories that they can share with the world. Alejandra O’Leary brings things back to writing quirky guitar songs about everyday stressors and, once more, the approach feels fresh.
Of course, the first point of comparison would be Liz Phair’s music. But it’s quite a surprise that Alejandra O’Leary’s single, “Trouble,” a slice of life of pop song, would feel like such a point of departure from the majority of modern tunes. O’Leary’s in love trouble, alright, but it’s the brightness of her voice and those pleasant chord changes that make this a song that is really easy to enjoy.
