Sound Furies – 50/50 + 4 Keeps
Similar artists: PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Genre: Indie Folk, Folk
It’s no coincidence that for the past decade or so, we’ve seen a sharp rise in the number of bands that play while hiding their identities. The majority of them invent a kind of lore around the band. It almost always works to attract an audience. These bands either become cult artists or end up playing in arenas full of people. Why is that?
Naturally, you can blame it on the fact that all of us, without exception, are attracted to a mystery that we have no way of ever solving. Sure! But more of it has to do with the fact that pop stars nowadays are horribly boring, lifeless creatures. Listening to any of their interviews is like hearing somewhat debated accounting practices. They’re dull and filled with made-up stories.
Sound Furies’ “50/50 + 4 Keeps” is a folkie song filled with make-believe, tall tales, and the artists’ own mythology. It’s hard to know what to believe about how much of this is true or not. It sounds distant. It sounds like it was not made by people who are in any hurry to be discovered and accepted fully by an audience. Because of all of this, and on account of the good tune that this all rests on, it’s an attractive musical proposition.
San Silvan – Samba
Similar artists: Nick Mulvey, Sophie Hunger, José González, Fink
Genre: Indie Rock
We’ve come to expect too little of our rock music, and it shows. Bands and artists are content with delivering as little as the public expects of them. It’s amazing to consider just how many varieties of musical styles exist throughout the world. It’s tremendous to witness how they almost instantly transfer across cultures. San Silvan is an artist who understands just how much the world is yet to fully discover and is doing his part.
The fact is that pop music is a bit like a fast food order. It’s delivered to you, cutting out all potential difficulties. You almost always know what to expect and, therefore can’t be shocked. And it’s not very good for you, but this does not stop most people from ordering the exact same thing the next evening.
San Silvan’s “Samba” is a tender exercise in mixing South American rhythms with Western European precision. As the title suggests, it is a song built on the artist’s interpretation of a samba groove. But beyond the exotica elements, the artists allow the song to float gently in a make believe world, one on which the restrictions of the real one are all but erased. It’s amazing to consider just how many ways there are to combine musical elements in order to create great, brand-new songs.
