
Strawberry Moon – Down in the Dirt
Similar artists: Sheer Mag, Sleater-Kinney, Screaming Females
Genre: Punk, Post-Punk, Alternative Rock
Strawberry Moon dare to be every man and woman’s punk-rocker, mohawk-sporting musician who enjoy gardening and complain about back aches.
Back in the late 1960s, The Band and, occasionally, Bob Dylan moved to a little cottage outside New York to make music. Just as importantly, they grew beards, got better accustomed with folk music and started looking like the kind of people that once dug holes in the ground in order to look for gold pebbles. They didn’t look like rockstars, and soon, everyone was copying them.
The classic punk-rocker look and lifestyle certainly help get you noticed. But punk-rockers are people, too. Not all of them get stabbed in an alleyway or drink themselves to death. Some grow up enough to be confronted by life’s problems. And if they’re really lucky, they remain punks with a yard and grass that needs trimming.
Strawberry Moon are the most down-to-earth punks that you’re likely to meet. Sure, “Down in the Dirt” features a bombastic, guitar-driven sound, and there’s pure anger captured in the vocals. But it’s the kind of anger that the singer would tell you about over a nice cup of organic coffee, and it’s born out of the pain of having to attend to gardening chores. It’s a new golden time for regular Joe stars, and Strawberry Moon are part of that change.
Super Ghost – Complacent
Genre: Indie Rock
In a time where most rock musicians sound and look like they’ve just woken up, Super Ghost are unapologetically studio hermits who love big pop-rock hooks.
It makes sense that modern audiences would want to return to giving their admiration to everyday people who happen to be stars. It’s not just the fact that everything moves in cycles, although this helps. What weighs heavier is the fact that listeners are sick of excesses, of bragging and of songs that sound too close to being perfect.
This has ushered in a new generation of DIY musicians. For the most part, they are happy to share their lo-fi recordings and bet it all on an aesthetic that seems to imply that they don’t wish to try too hard. Nonchalance can help in getting popular, but it’s a craft that really gives the music a long and meaningful life.
Super Ghost’s “Complacent” finds the group indulging in a carefully balanced sonic blend that can only be achieved by spending hours upon hours in the studio. Yes, the band members are doing it themselves. But judging by the sound of this, their desire is to be remembered as perfectionists, not as slobs, the inevitable fate of many of their contemporaries.