Maximiliano – Bullion Man
Similar artists: Muse, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys
Genre: Classic Rock, Pop Rock, Alternative Rock
You’d have to be crazy to take this whole pop music seriously these days. With interest in most genres waning, it’s up to the PR reps to carve out stories. And, boy, do they have their work cut out for them.
Rappers are encouraged to make diss tracks about each other that reveal just that they’re rich guys who are entirely disconnected from reality and their fans. Rock bands are encouraged to bring out their past drug use or their active sex life, even though they are in their mid-60s and sound like they have no friends. And pop stars talk about how much their past seven-day relationship hurt them and inspired them to write songs. It’s all very boring indeed.
What you need to get by is either a sensational power of concentration or a great sense of humour. Maximiliano’s “Bullion Man” possesses the latter as well as access to powerful, stadium-sized guitar riffs. It’s a song that’s stamped with a clear delivery address – wise-ass indie-rock fans. You’ll hear it and chuckle, but you might hear it in an arena and gladly spend $20 on a beer just as well.
Alien Grace – Calm Before The Storm
Similar artists: Queen, System Of A Down, Supertramp
Genre: Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Listen, pop music has never shied away from using gimmicks. Fans of 50s artists forget that the way Elvis or Little Richard dressed and behaved helped them get recognition. Fans of classic rock like to forget about the kind of jittery over-the-top outfits that their future radio kings used to wear. And, fans of punk or grunge, like to forget that bands were their outfits like uniforms.
But the gimmicks are getting sillier, aren’t they? It’s all about getting a 10-second bit on a TikTok video, or a news article written about the artists in a gossip magazine. And, when it comes to the music, playing and singing have long ago stopped being a requirement. There are many ways around it that involve the use of modern technology, getting more competent musicians to do the job istead, or, simply, not bothering with such complex things at all.
Alien Grace’s “Calm Before The Storm” is a song for the classic rock fateful, for the fading minority that listens to modern pop music with their ears. It’s also rather tasteful in its approach, something that the majority of math-rock virtuosos would never consider including. Operatic prog-rock has never been a bonafide cool genre, but it is one where people who are unable to play, sing, and write to a very high standard haven’t even opened the door.
