
Mike Amerika – Angie Anne
Those singers who have a modicum of respect for their future audiences and who haven’t had the chance of being in the minority of people born with Freddie Mercury-like resources of talent take singing lessons. They can then boast about being able to transition from an F2 to an A5 without their voice breaking. They can then sing the most complicated songs and sound, at least reasonably good.
That’s all great, but the danger is that most singers, indeed, become quite skilful. It’s a nice thing at first, but it can easily lead to singers ending up possessing what, to general listeners, sounds like the same person singing the same song. Delivery is everything, and managing to make an impression is the hardest thing. Those who can do that are few and are immediately snapped up to the front of the queue.
Mike Amerika’s “Angie Anne” benefits from an excellent delivery, especially in the first part of the verse. It’s not something owning to vocal lessons and maybe something that you could do even. But it’s striking enough that it’ll make you want to click back and listen to it again. The rest of the song is good, although it delves into classic, more predictable territory. Still, the streetmart’s impact on Mike Amerika’s singing is something worth taking note of, and “Angie Ann” shows great potential.
Lautmusik – Broken Bones
Music critics always love oversimplification. Let’s give it a try. For the most part, the original punk bands were nice kids dressed up as bikers and anarchists who occasionally threatened that they’d carry out a revolution. The post-punk were smart kids dressed regularly who, played more angular music, and usually wrote songs about the myriad of personal issues with which they were dealing.
Which one do you think would have a greater chance of succeeding in 2024? Naturally, it’s post-punk that has made a revival in these times of uncertainty. It’s a period in which more people have more things than ever before but one in which more people are deeply unhappy. That’s the mood of the time. Post-punk captures that very well.
It’s always exciting to hear someone approach post-punk from a different angle. Lautmusik may have chosen a German moniker to represent them, but they come from Brazil’s Porto Alegre. They are influenced by the 1970s post-punk band. They are artsy, in love with a moody vibe, and they are looking and experimenting with sound as if stretching out a rubber band. They’re a nice addition to this brand-new revival of post-punk and offer a great alternative to the shouty groups coming, mostly from the U.K.