Rats and Daggers – Weary Willy
Similar artists: IDLES, Amyl and The Sniffers, Viagra Boys
Genre: Post-Punk, Alternative Rock
There’s a new soundtrack to the old city blues, and it’s a type of music that’s been around for a while. Over the past decade, post-punk, which now includes vocalists shouting over an immovable bassline, has been all the rage. While the sound and the problems described by it originated in the perpetually rainy London Town, musicians from all over the world have felt a kinship with it.
But it’s also meant that the world has accumulated a vast collection of bands that fit this description. Frankly, it’s easy to get lost within the rigid grooves and the shouty vocals. To be honest, the problems of the people out in London resemble the problems of all, resemble those of folks in New York, resemble those of folks in the Netherlands.
Moder post-punk bands need something extra, and, usually, they look toward their vocalist to provide it. Rats and Daggers’s “Weary Willy” is helped massively by having the kind of vocalist whose presence commands attention out front. The words are enough to paint a picture of an urban wasteland-filled days spent tied to the same routine. But, damn, if this doesn’t also sound like the voice of someone planning an escape.
The Gas Widows – Pretty Dumb
Genre: Punk, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
Writing unsophisticated, passionate music and recording it just clearly enough so that it’s passable is a true art. In fact, it has a lot in common with the original idea of rock n’ roll. With all the finesse of modern producers and all of the fancy tools that they have to work with, we are losing some of that immediacy. And we’re having a lot less fun.
Those kinds of songs, of course, have all but been banned from charts, radio stations and fancy playlists. There are many people who complain about the state of music nowadays. Really, it’s likely that they haven’t had the chance to hear good music recorded badly. It might make them fall in love with tunes all over again.
There’s nothing subtle about The Gas Widows’ “Pretty Dumb.” In fact, the title of the song tells you most of what you need to know. But this doesn’t mean that it’s not good. Nah, it’s better than the vast majority of the things that are on the charts and which you are forced to hear. It’s angry, it’s hooky, and it doesn’t sound like anyone in the band has quite read the owner’s manual for the gear they’ve stolen.
