CANDID – Wasted Time
Genre: Indie Rock
Similar artists: Blossoms, Circa Waves, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Inhaler
The majority of serious rock listeners and, especially, music journalists, treat cheerful-sounding pop music with disdain. Now, I don’t believe that this is the right approach. A lot of great music gets overlooked in this way.
However, I can understand their position. It’s sort of like having someone that has studied existentialist philosophy review one of Chris Farley’s classic comedies. There’s nothing wrong with the quality of the films. It’s just that it’s territory for which these people have not been fully trained.
I say this only because CANDID’s Wasted Time is unmistakably a pop song. But, it’s a terrific pop tune created by folks that know exactly what they’re doing, and who they’re planning to reach. Play this at a summer party and you’ll have everyone asking who’s behind the writing of the tune? No, CANDID won’t be making music for the serious-minded critics, but neither did bands like The Ramones and they couldn’t buy a bad review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lnegAqKV30
Swiss Army Wife – Telecaster
Genre: Punk, Pop Punk, Emo
Similar artists: Joyce Manor, PUP, Algernon Cadwallader, Descendents, Saves the Day
I can tell you where you’re music career is bound to go based on the first songs that you tried to learn. See, the thing is that a lot of people jump the shark. They look to learn something complicated. Something that says “I’m a guitarist“.
That’s the reason why you’re banned from playing Stairway to heaven inside a guitar shop. It’s not that the music will instantly conjure up the devil, as some theories might have you believe. It’s only because the store clerks can’t bear to listen to another person butchering that Jimmy Page intro.
Swiss Army Wife sound like kids that learned White Riot and Seven Nation Army. That won’t get them in any prog-rock groups. Good! There are far too many of those anyway. As their tune Telecaster helps show, their particular skills might get them a lot of kids, the chance to talk to some interesting people and some genuine excitement from the public. They picked the right strategy.
