Pretty Moi – CAPS
Sure, there are bands that spend all of their time on stage staring at their shoes and fiddling around with their pedals. There are even groups that will spend their entire career dressing up in masks and coming up with fake names for themselves.
However, the really important bands were made up of musicians who were daring to the point of madness. Whether it was Led Zeppelin’s early London shows or Sex Pistols’ violence-filled cruises up and down England, these were bands who opted to take a major personal risk.
Fittingly, their music felt free of restraints. It was loud, bombastic, emotional and made the musicians feel like people who were confronting their very mortality while playing each note. These are qualities that Pretty Moi have.
Sure, “CAPS,” is a single that brings to mind retro sounds related to psychedelia or garage rock. Yes, the sound is swirling in a kind of hippiesque daze. But it’s the power that the band members, the singer especially, pour into the track, the commitment to make something frighteningly beautiful and imperfect, that makes Pretty Moi a rocking force worth watching carefully.
The Yum Yum Tree – My Corner
Most people would make terrible songwriters because they refuse to learn fancy chords or the music theory that helps them fit into songs. It’s also not because they don’t possess a sparkling voice capable of shuffling between multiple octaves.
The majority of folks either ignore that their life is one great fight for survival or get buried by the notion entirely. And, while that’s not the first thought that you ought to have while munching down on your morning cornflakes, it’s one best kept in the background.
Artists, the really good ones, on the other hand, are folks who make friends with neurosis, who learn to balance out eccentricities, and who make peace with never fully feeling at ease. This is The Yum Yum Tree’s return sounds like.
It’s a powerful revelation and a dynamic garage rock sound that the group delivers with “My Corner.” The music certainly pushes like a locomotive being driven off the rails, but it’s the natural vocal delivery and the subtle, excellent lyrics that are the stars of the show. “My Corner” sounds like an epic battle being fought in someone’s brain while mustering the courage to move out their front door.
