Kape Yeel – Badass Kids
One of the cool things about popular music, to me, has always been how many chancers, fakes, and cons it has introduced. Of course, I am able to say that because, unlike many of the artists that have actually managed to make it big in the industry, I have not been ripped off, nor do I have many reasons to cry about.
Still, think about it. Rock and, ironically, reality media are the only places where one can achieve status on attitude alone. Sure, talent helps. But, it’s not vital in reaching every type of audience. And, after all, every band and brand are cult acts since nobody is able to appeal to every type of audience out there.
Kape Yeel’s Badass Kids is like a run down the fashion runway. It’s all an act, all about attitude, and daring you to call it names. You can’t win this because from the indietronica sounds, to how the Swedish rock trio present themselves, nobody can do much to lose their cool. It may be an act, but that’s what rock has at its very core.
Mouth Washington – Constance
There are entire genres created for the benefit of showcasing a single musical moment. The whole dubstep style was focused on the drop, and all of its listeners would wait for it as if observing a comedian about to deliver a punchline. The guitar virtuoso movement of the 80s was created around elaborate guitar solos where Yngwie and Satch would launch guitar pyro from their fingers. Deathcore is largely created around breakdowns, and so on.
Mouth Washington’s Constance is conceived around something less easy to define, yet found in a lot of punk and post-punk nonetheless. The band sounds as if they’ve isolated the cathartic outro elements of these sorts of songs and wrote an entirely new piece around it.
The cascading guitars, the shouted vocals, and the heartfelt lyrics are the elements that glue this one together. Constance is a psychodrama of a single, sonic sanctification from start to finish.
