Secret Cameras – Back Against the Wall
There’s a simple reason, I reckon, why post-punk and gothic-rock of the classic variety are enjoying such a wonderful comeback. That’s because people, particularly those in the U.S. and U.K., are either worried, miserable, or both. The fact that the vast majority of the bands making this kind of music come from these centres of pop-rock only helps to amplify the idea that the world is going to hell and we’re all going to have a nice drum machine groove to dance around to.
The good news is that we get music as darkly convincing as Secret Cameras. But, much like the Barclays Premier League era, nostalgia has a habit of tricking us into thinking the past was better. Were there fewer wars than today? Were economic downturns less common? Was England doing well in the Eurovision Song Contest? Nah, all of it was crap. There were just fewer devices to see bad news from, and newscasts were less aggressive about pushing their product.
Thankfully, unlike many of their post-punk British counterparts, Secret Cameras got a post-punk sound that is soothing and mysterious, rather than barked and designed to be chanted by Arsenal fans on a European trip. Secret Cameras work with interesting melodic twists and vocals that blend with the background. “Back Against the Wall” sounds like it was designed to accompany a long, strange journey through some secret underground passage. We’ll all be hiding inside them when the bombs fall. But, with our luck, and the benefit of history books at our disposal, things are unlikely to get that interesting.
The Mad Mile – Four in a Case
Most people have, I’m convinced, not a single friend that they can rely on. That means that there’s nobody to invite to see a band, nobody to call them on their birthday, and nobody to tell them when they’re about to make a horrible decision.
It’s a pretty lonely world for most people. But, since the vast majority find themselves in the same kind of situation, there’s no reason to be ashamed, and enough good strategies that can be used to push some of that aching solitude away.
The Mad Mile makes music meant to accompany such people through life. They’re part of a great tradition of bands able to do so, and a reminder of why the artists who’ve routinely provided some relief to those desolate and cut off from the rest of the world deserve a particular kind of goodwill.
There’s a road that seems to go on forever, and The Mad Mile’s “Four in a Case” is the music playing on the car radio. This is music about new places and the same old problems. The group specialises in a kind of moody indie-rock that provides the pretty melodies, the pleasant dance grooves, and the aching feeling that nothing, except for this song, is out there waiting for you.
