Montgomery – Better Now
Genre: Garage Rock, Emo, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Weezer, the Dirty Nil, Modern Baseball, The Moms, Oso oso
The problem with growing up is that you can’t really express excitement the way you did when you were a kid. Or, at least, nobody is going to cheer you on for it. Kids get to stomp their feet, clap their hands and yell for no good reason at all.
This is maybe why adults have to find all sorts of stupid hobbies to make up for it. Personally, I yell when the team I support scores a goal as I’ve just won the lottery. It’s silly I know. One of the only other things that people who want to perpetually embrace their inner Peter Pan can do is play in a band.
Rock duo Montgomery’s Better Now sound like kids who have just been left out of the house after being forced to spend all of their summer holidays indoors. They talk about sailors being given freedom, but you should see toddlers. The tune is a mix of power-pop hooks and emotional lyrics. It’s emo-jock rock and the world needs it.
Silver Movie – Jackson Pollock’s House
Genre: Indie Folk, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock
It takes a good amount of effort and persuasion to get people to think that you’re an intelligent rocker. After all, this is an art form created by knuckleheads. That’s one of the greatest things about it, and one of the reasons why it remains incredibly inclusive.
However, if you got it, show it off! This is not so easy for many of the people that find themselves wandering into this business. After all, a lot of them choose rock as an alternative for finding a job, socializing, or any of the activities towards which normal people find themselves drawn.
Matt Ray of Silver Movie certainly can’t be accused of being a knucklehead. Here he quotes Woody Guthrie, Joe Strummer, and threatens to spray paint Jackson Pollock’s House. It’s a dreamy, clever exercise in Sunday morning dreaming or indie-folk storytelling. This is art gallery songwriting, but you’d need this kind of brain and imagination to be able to come up with something like this.
