Marian – “K-Leigh”
The greatest thing that happened to the art of rock ‘ n ‘ roll is the worst thing that happened to the business of selling rock n’ roll. Somewhere along the way, the weirdos, geeks and eccentrics got to plant the flag.
They won, alright. There’s no denying it. In fact, ask a typical commuter what they think of rock music, and they’ll grimace, use their fingers to make the symbol of the devil horns and pretend that they’re angry.
This kind of music and everything that goes along with it lives now on the periphery in an abandoned building. But it sure can be home for many. And, as Marian, it’s the only home that a lot of people are ever going to know.
“K-Leigh” is a punchy little pop-rock number about being a weirdo, geek and eccentric until the day that you realise you’re just someone who hasn’t found a place that accepts all these quirks. The single sounds anthemic, and damn if it isn’t pretty, life-affirming as well.
Black Bordello – Daddy
Bands and musical artists aren’t as aggressively pushed into genre ghettos any more. Sure, there are now numerous top-rated musical festivals that make a point of integrating artists from a vast array of genres. Yes, over the past decades, there have been the occasional pop stars defying easy categorisation. And, there’s always whatever the Eurovision is.
But it’s not enough. For the most part, pop songs try to deal with life’s big problems in the simplest terms possible. They try to make you believe that an unsurprising, smooth-running three-minute song with a poppy chorus is going to solve all of your problems. It won’t, and Black Bordello feels that you’re going to need more.
The band’s first step in giving you, the listener, what you need is to provide themselves with the comfort they require. “Daddy” is a complex song about an awfully tangled topic involving mourning and regret. Fittingly, Black Bordello refuses to run in a straight line across this track, instead choosing a theatrical delivery and odd changes of pace. By defying convention, Black Bordello properly honor the topic of the song and the band’s audience.
