ØZWALD and King Black Acid Reviewed
ØZWALD – Stream of Dreams
A potentially great music marketing agent always tells his clients that they need to choose. He says that if you’re an artist, you can choose to be retro, or pretend that you’re from the future. Either one is equally acceptable if you commit to the part. What you cannot do under any circumstances is be contemporary.
If you’re simply “modern,” he reckons, all that you’re doing is chasing trends set by someone else. If you’re doing that, no matter how well, you’re likely to get replaced when you least expect it.
I’ve reviewed ØZWALD a few times before, mostly because I love the sound of the band. This is a band that’s bet it all on “retro” and for the most part has won out. But can they keep going?
“Stream of Dreams” is a new single, based on an old sound. But this is no longer a sound that is desperate to convince you that you’ve crash-landed into 1965. It’s a song built on a similar kind of faith in hyper-melodic pop tones, but one that could as well be confused for a new indie-folk group. The ideas are old, the approach is new and, for the most part, it works.
King Black Acid – Never Let ’em Touch Your Weed
Artists have always required muses, and they’ve fought desperately to keep them around. Lose the muse, and you might lose the gift, and if that happens, all you’re left with is a blank piece of paper or some watercolours left unused and drying up.
But you gotta be careful about those muses. Not only do they realise their own worth, but they can unionise, ask for raises, and stop working altogether. It’s quite a hassle! You better act smartly and make good choices. King Black Acid have done just that, writing a tune about their own muse, one that won’t voluntarily run away with the mailman.
“Never Let ‘em Touch Your Weed” may sound like the title of a comedy skit. Still, the playing here is very serious business from start to end, with the group experimenting freely with sweet pop hooks, studio trickery and dance grooves. It’s a kind of stoner rock tune transformed for the benefit of television audiences. It’s a gamble, and mostly, it works!
