leauxx – hungry
Genre: Industrial, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Nine Inch Nails, banks, Billie Eilish
There is more than one way to scare a generation. New artists can’t use the same old tactics. But, make no mistake, these daring troubadours of shock provide an invaluable service. They provide excitement, style, and a bit of food for thought whereas their mainstream rivals are content with shooting merely for company endorsements.
But, what’s scary nowadays? Everything! The line that has to be crossed on an artist’s journey to provoke a reaction gets changed every day. However, in 2022, it takes quite a bit of resilience to frighten a world that hasn’t been able to walk outside, hug their friends, and has lived under the threat of war. New sounds, new fears!
leauxx’s hungry cleverly channels the feelings of paranoia and perpetual menstrual confinement. The song is a clever mix as well, taking elements of Trent Reznor’s dungeon romanticism and Billie Eilish’s odes to the digital wasteland and finding the place where they stick together. leauxx is a pop artist, but not one that lets sunlight into these pop tunes. Instead, there’s a new kind of darkness that some can already hear.
Subshine – Corridor of Dreams
Genre: Synthpop, New wave, Indie Pop
Similar artists: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Cleaners From Venus, M83, Beck
I’ve come to embrace pop music. But, I am proud to say, it took a lot longer for the acceptance to work on me. Just like being the last of your friends to be married, get a mortgage, or drive a Volvo, I wear this like a badge of honor. Yes, I knew about pop music. And, yeah, I knew how it was supposed to make you feel. But, I rejected it every step of the way. Let that be known!
Why was my psyche so hard to break down? Well, I blame it on my punk and metal education. Music made by people that are actually finding enjoyment out of life has little room here. It’s not to be trusted. It feels like it is made by someone that has ignored the basic pay and dread that real songwriters must feel when they create their best work. Or, so I thought.
The fact is that I, like many rockers, have always felt a distrust of music that makes you feel good. I now know that there are exceptions.
Subshine’ Corridor of Dreams is summer music for a day at the beach made by someone whose record collection could cause serious injury were it to fall off their shelves and onto your back. It is pop music made by someone that could, likely, have been active in any other genre. It’s a demonstration of modern production techniques, of shoegaze made to raise a smile rather than enforce a scowl. Subshine makes pretty music that might make you feel like you could do anything. Sometimes, there is nothing wrong with this.
