Petunia & The Vipers – Bible Preacher
The past is frightening, and I’m not talking about no Dark Ages either. We all tremble at some of the things that make the news today. But we feel this way because we know what we left behind not long ago. If you care to look, it’s in the history books, the stories told down through generations, and, especially, through the wild sounds of the past.
Black metal bands and gangsta rappers may build their reputation on their love of conflict, but few, if any of them, could’ve hung out with the country and blues singers of old. The Devil himself might’ve looked for ways to drop out of that appointment. They might have smiled and dressed in suits, but these musicians had brimstone on their minds.
Petunia & The Vipers wear shiny suits, sport big smiles, and play traditional, entertaining country blues. But, without much additional effort, “Bible Preacher” ends up also being a terrifying song. It’s a tune about the madness of The Coming and how we’re all wrapped into it whether we like it or do not. Petunia & The Vipers are great performers, and this may help in getting you to take your eye off the ball. Make no mistake about it. The past is a terrifying thing, and the future ain’t going to be no Summer picnic either, according to this band.
Ronjo V – Church Girl
Heartbreak has been an incredible supporter of pop music. Without it, where would pop music be, how could it have reached the audiences that it did, and would many of the best songs of the last century or so have even existed? This blend of longing and sweet misery is powerful, in fact, that many musical genres have found ways of growing so as to accommodate these ideas.
But just as a love letter is not in itself enough to secure the admiration of the person you hold dearest to your heart, simply crying your heart out and cursing your rotten luck will not be enough to convince fans. There is no clear formula. The one thing that we do know for certain is that music listeners are looking for performers who have felt just as down as they did and who can articulate it in the form of a great song.
Ronjo V’s “Church Girl” isn’t merely a melancholy-filled song about good love going bad. It distinguishes itself through a nearly faultless production that suggests a love of old country and blues and an understanding of modern pop music. In fact, it is so well crafted and pleasant that you would be hard-tasked to find people who, on first listen, would not have, at the very least, some compliments that they’d like to share with the performer.
Yeah, heartbreak has done plenty for pop music, but that doesn’t mean that the music doesn’t have to be as smooth as French Rosé on a Summer evening.
