White Bike – While You Were Away
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock, Garage Rock
Hearing yourself play guitar through a fuzz pedal is like a blind man having their eyesight restored, or watching the heavens themselves parting wide open for a spiritual message to be delivered. The acoustic guitar was built as an affordable and weight-relieved alternative to the piano, cello, and other large stringed instruments.
And, while an acoustic guitar can sound like an orchestra all by itself, playing a loud electric guitar feels like holding a flame thrower and wielding it in any direction that you desire. It’s strange to know what to do with all this power.
In the case of U.S.-based alt-rock group White Bike, the answer is to harness that power for the lizard-like stride of While You Were Away. The fuzz-pedal provides the spark, while the repetitive vocal lines draw out the spell. It’s a strong alt-rock single that feels like being in a tire truck that is being pushed, slowly down the road.
Paul Allen – Out On The Street
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Living out on the streets means very different things to people based on where they happen to live. All of them, however, agree that there is a certain romance about spending your time wild and free, unshackled by responsibilities, without knowledge of what’s going to happen next.
But, yes, fundamentally living out on the streets for Cheap Trick or Bruce Springsteen is different than from an artist in Eastern Europe, or the Middle East. You might get mobsters shooting slugs out in the New Jersey streets in the movies, but, overall, life allows youngsters to indulge their rebellious visions when residing in a rich, Westernized country.
With that being said, there’s a shortage of songs about looking for love, risking everything for it, and living dangerously. Paul Allen’s Out On The Street provides this flawlessly. The fact that it draws inspiration from The Crystals, the excellent 1960s girl group, and only works in their favor. Allen’s voice has a hint of bravery and despair to it, elements that are always welcomed in the arena of garage-rock.
