Tebi Rex – Main Character
Similar artists: The Streets, Plan B, KURUPT FM
Genre: Post-Punk
It was only a matter of time before the English spoken in and around Ireland became a concern to pop music fans once again. Tebi Rex is angry, charismatic, and willing to take a chance on these new trends.
It’s very easy to see why post-punk featuring this angry English speech-singing would be appealing. For one thing, so many Irish and British singers have hidden their accents for so long. All of the singers that have achieved success have done their very best to sound American. It’s bound to get old sometimes.
The second reason is that cursing in Irish English sounds positively charming. You can tell a lot about countries from their curses. The Germans make it about disgusting bodily functions. The Eastern Europeans make it about family ties. And the British sound ashamed to be using such language.
Tebi Rex’s “Main Character” is a delightful piece of modern post-punk. While it features the stiff bass lines and the angry shouting guy that are prerequisites of post-punk, this is really a short story wrapped in a rap. Many similar bands have sprung out in recent years, but folks that comprise Tebi Rex actually sound like the kind of folks worth hearing out.
Teenage Halloween – Armageddon Now
Similar artists: Dollar Signs, Jeff Rosenstock, Against Me!, The Menzingers
Genre: Punk
For the folks struggling through their teenage years, know that, indeed, things do get better. But, it’s also true that nobody true forgets or fully overcomes one’s formative years. Perhaps the biggest problem is that there never seems to be a sound or an image powerful enough to express the turmoil of that period. Teenage Halloween do their very best to provide a musical solution.
Fully grown adults tend to scoff at their younger versions for the importance they place on the things that stir emotions. Still, adults are usually quick to sigh when remembering those days of their lives as if having been thrown out of the Garden and forced to beg for their survival. The point is that the tension of that period is best remembered and, if possible, maintained.
Teenage Halloween’s “Armageddon Now” is shamelessly poppy and powerful. No, they are not mall punks. There’s a lot more despair captured in their music and a great understanding of the power of strong melodies. “Armageddon Now” is manic-sounding and relentlessly attempting to sound catchy.
