
Hernia – Dead Inside
“Damn it, that sounds like the Replacements!” That is the basis on which I introduce most new music to my life. You see, even as someone who wasn’t there when the Mats began their musical careers and proceeded to gleefully ruin it, I can recognize the quality of Paul Westerberg’s writing and their overall sound simply makes me excited.
While hard to define, I can point towards Denmark’s excellently titled group Hernia, as ones who also get that sound and share in the joy of creating it. It’s as good as drinking a cold beer on a hot summer’s day. Or, if you are a member of the Replacements, numerous beers in any season of the year.
Hernia’s head-honcho Malte Hill may make simple guitar music, but he has clearly been studying a specific period in the history of guitar rock. Hill is a fan of the shiny, yet the abrasive sound of 80s American alternative rock. The guitars on Dead inside sound large, fuzzed-out and threatening to smoulder the mix as a whole. The vocals reveal Hill’s great ear for melody and a penchant for hiding his words in the background of the mix. D
Dead inside is a great, fun single that were it not for the magic of the internet, and you’d be spending a near fortune to buy as an imported single.
Poor Frisco – Hearts of Tidewater
Not everyone grew up with a cooler older brother whose record collection included Velvet Underground and David Bowie albums. Some grew up with parents who although not as cool, luckily, also kept a collection. However, theirs might have favoured Three Dog Night and Jimmy Buffet. Not a bad introduction to guitar music, but not one you’d be able to use to brag to your friends about.
I’ve no reason to assume anything, but I will anyway. Poor Frisco’s Hearts of Tidewater sounds like indie rock made under the influence of some of the sunniest, picnic-inviting, Sunday music made back in the 1970s. Critics may not have loved it, sure, but the music has had enough staying power that we still concern ourselves with those sounds even today.
Sharp, simple guitar lines are the ideal replacement to the horn section that the song, no doubt, had initially been written to accommodate. The vocal melodies are also pleasant. And, if you do not appreciate the whole production, you should not be among those to receive a cocktail on the house. Because this is clearly future-cruise music.