Sunshine Spazz – Electric Chair
Similar artists: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, IDLES, Thee Oh Sees, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Queens of the Stone Age
Genre: Punk, Post-Hardcore, Garage Rock
Trying to describe rock music is a lot like using painting to describe an Eastern European dance. Yes, a few people can do it, and they probably get paid a lot of time to bother trying. The rest of the ones who give it a go simply embarrass themselves and everyone else who attempts this profession. Some things are simply better understood if experienced directly.
But it doesn’t stop music writers from trying. It doesn’t stop music streaming sites like Spotify from recommending other artists that you should surely like based on your previous listening habits. And, worst of all, it all helps to strip the magic away from the art and turn it into something that is easily programmable as a Japanese computer fixing a past bowl.
But forget everything I just said. Sunshine Spazz’s “Electric Chair” is a rare type of song that can be described accurately using only words. I don’t even have to be talented at doing it to get you to hear it. What it sounds like is cartoonishly explosive punk-rock music made by people who don’t play punk-rock but like psychedelic and progressive music instead. It’s fast and loud and helps showcase the band’s musical chops. It’s something born out of what King Gizzard unleashed onto the world and something that their fans will, no doubt, appreciate.
Little Fang – Romance
Similar artists: T. Rex, Amon Düül II, Ton Steine Scherben, Iggy Pop, Mogwai
Genre: Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
There are still a few explorers out there, trying to make it through this crazy world using their instincts alone. There have to be. If, indeed, they’ve all gone extinct, many of the things that we’ve held dear for so long ought to be packed up and shipped to Antarctica, where it won’t bother anyone. If that’s the case, you better start off with rock n’ roll first.
Despite everything vocal coaches and song doctors want you to believe, there’s no way that rock n’ roll can be learned simply through imitation. I mean, of course, some vitals skills can be acquired by pretending to be somebody else. But, by and large, the great singers of old were people who daringly threw themselves into life before finding out what they truly needed.
This is where Little Fang’s “Romance” comes in. It’s a song that hints at the stupid bravery of rock poets, a la Iggy Pop or Jim Morrison. But, this is, clearly, the work of someone who won’t believe anything about the dangers of the world that they’ve been warned about until they feel it on their own. Besides this, what Little Fang ends up with is a song that swings like Marc Bolan playing the boogie in front of the Royal Family.
