Merit Maker – New Way
Pop-punk is having an unexpected resurgence in mainstream music. Unlike other styles that hit it big with radio and TV circa the 2000s (nu-metal, industrial) this is a comeback in earnest. New artists are emerging, and many of them are using pop-punk as a jump-off point for creating a modern, fresh sound.
However, pop-punk has often been misunderstood. The shiny MTV videos might have you think that all of the artists in these genres were mallrats, fully content with their lives, and incapable of feeling any form of sadness. This is not true. The line between pop and emo is thinner than you think.
Most artists from this genre have recorded their own odes dedicated to depression. Merit Maker’s New Way is a classy method to deal with these issues in song. Underneath the gloss and the energy bubbles a real concern with life and how to live it well. New way is a really cool song about facing up to yourself and your shortcomings.
King-Mob – Stomp and Shiver
You have to hand it to musicians that are fully determined to keep their music evil. Although the duo of King-Mob has been playing for a long time, they sound just like the first day that they discovered they could summon the devil from guitar strings and drums.
I’d like to see other musicians who have chosen a similar left-hand path, but I’m afraid of having my heartbroken. Is King Diamond decorating his manor with upside-down crosses as we speak, or could he be eating McDonalds? Are the lads in Slayer researching medieval torture techniques, are they walking their dogs?
See, evil has to trained and maintained if you’re to keep up. Stomp and Shiver by King-Mob shows a duo that has a handle on the dark arts. Beyond the bluesy guitar riffs and the industrial rock rhythms, there’s great stoutheartedness towards making a loud, abrasive noise.
