Native Nomads – Faded
Some rock tunes function as great garnish, and others are the main course. Faded by Spanish group Native Nomads knows a thing or two about style and leans for the former. The song seethes with energy and ideas and shares more than a little with the alternative rock songs that dominated mainstream radio during the 90s.
Faded is not a song that goes for the jugular. Instead of being menacing, it prefers to sing the blues. And, instead of a regular blues progression, it works its way into your canal using muted guitar tones, a driving drum beat, and floaty vocals. Filled on too much coffee, this could even develop into a funk-jam.
Native Nomads sounds, for now, like a group that takes the stage at a local bar, is forced to share a bill with much less competent groups and ends up blowing them away.
The Zolas – I Feel the Transition (Live at 604 Studio)
The Zolas like to wear shades inside a darkened room, feature a drummer with an excellently groomed moustache, and play retro-styled guitar models. That’s almost all you need to know, really.
It should arrive without much surprise then that this group of confident Canadians playing elegant Brit-rock would want to share a live recording as their new release. They have swagger to spare, but they’re able to back it up, like a young Kasabian looking at Oasis’ crown.
Then there’s the matter of the lyrics. “You’re the Queen of Hearts/You’re an oligarch“. How can you not fall in love with this band? Not since “I’m feeling supersonic/Give me gin and tonic” has someone sung nonsense with as much bravado.
The Zolas know just where they are going, but if anybody switches their Best of Brit-Pop collection with a Syd Barret recording, this could end in disaster.
