Ask Carol – Tonight
Genre: Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Wolf Alice, PVRIS, Dorothy, Blood Red Shoes, Silversun Pickups, Nelson Can
Rock music in 2022 finds itself in the strange position of having to ask permission. Things didn’t use to be like this. Rock bands ask for help when looking to get on the radio, or on the TV. They ask for help with getting on big festival bills that cater to pop audiences. Even your friend will ask you for permission before playing a rock song in the car.
The music exists n the fringes of mainstream interest. This is not in itself anything bad. After all, the earliest forms of rock n’ roll crawled out of the ooze of barnyard parties. During the safest and most commercially-friendly eras of modern music, rock artists were still able to have hits and gather legions. And, most importantly, most of the great rock artists didn’t ask for permission.
Ask Carol’s Tonight is worthy of respect for being an unapologetic rock tune looking to become a hit. The song’s crunchy, but pleasant guitars and vocals are militarized in the service of success. They resemble the sounds found on the few rock hits of yesteryear. The singer’s energy and attitude recall some of the most confident performers in the genre. Ask Carol makes pop-rock aimed at the highest peaks in the charts, and the band feels no remorse.
Neverless – Bad Company (feat. JR Wasilewski of Less Than Jake)
Genre: Ska, Pop Punk, Hard Rock
Similar artists: RX Bandits, Less Than Jake, Mad Caddies, Rise Against, NOFX, OingoBoingo, Goldfinger, MCR, Blink 182
Some people are employed to look happy. It must be the hardest job in the world these days. Smile and you make other people smile. Cry and you’ll make someone else reach for the bourbon on the top shelf.
Waitresses, TV game show hosts, and ska artists don’t have a day off from the happiness machine. Ska, in particular, is built as the hippie stepson with a penchant for tremendous quantities of speed. This is music to do-si-do to, it’s punk for people who still cartoons, it’s colourful and hopeful.
This is exactly what Neverless’ Bad Company captures here. Imagine all of your favourite childhood cartoons, run the song in your mind as an alternative intro soundtrack, and you know where you are. Some people never grow up. The folks from Neverless are some of those people. And, we might all be better off for it.
