
Lil Badass – That Dog in Me
Similar artists: Parquet Courts, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, FIDLAR, Bass Drum of Death
Genre: Punk, Garage Rock
Lil Badass sounds like the kind of person that nobody in their right mind would want to employ. It’s a good thing that this music thing sounds like it could work out.
Rock n’ roll has never been meant to be smart. Hell, it’s called “rock n’ roll,” supposedly a paper-thin allegory for having sex. It was only when rock became a serious concern that it became obligatory for musicians to write tunes about life, death and the anxiety of having a pension plan.
Still, being able to design something charmingly and effortlessly stupid requires genius. And there aren’t many geniuses around nowadays. Most of those who could qualify are busy taking computer engineering, studying history or wasting their life away writing novels.
Like The Ramones or The Beastie Boys, Lil Badass is silly and annoying without having to dig too much to sound this way. “That Dog in Me” is a keeper, a slurred, non-sensical work that sounds like the work of someone who had to struggle hard to find three minutes of focus in which to record it. And it’s exactly the kind of song you want to replay. If no marketing department of a big fast food chain latches on to this, it’s clear that someone is not doing their job right.
Skittish – Mannequin
Similar artists: Weezer, Pixies
Skittish’s power-pop forces a smile where there could easily have been a tear. It comes equipped with hooks and hummable guitars.
Writing about, you know, is the famous advice given by a famous writer. In the pop music world, there’s less incentive than ever to pick up an instrument and make something up about what’s just happened to you. Hell, I’m sure that there’s someone who’s done it already, is going to do it, or will ask an AI generator to do it for them.
Never underestimate the importance of entertaining yourself when agreeing to do anything that’s hard. Back in the olden days, when folks didn’t have access to fancy computers, sheer boredom and anxiety might force them to become musicians, writers, or petty criminals. Anything that could give them a bit of cheap amusement would work just fine.
Skittish’s “Mannequin” sounds like the work of a jokester who, likely for us, still feels the need to make others smile. Lead by a direct, meat-and-potatoes power-pop arrangement, Skittish tells the tale of living close to the modern limelight, in the proximity of internet fame, and what all of this can do to one’s sanity.