Velvet Fist – Sci-Fi Samurai
Similar artists: Amyl and The Sniffers, Blondie, X-Ray Spex, Bikini Kill, Garbage
Genre: Punk, Post-Punk, Alternative Rock
Velvet Fist give punks and their sense of imagination a good name with their single “Sci-Fi Samurai.”
As strange as it may seem, the rise in technological capabilities seems to have been inversely proportional to artistic creativity. You’ve heard it a million times, and here’s me complaining about it all over again. Every movie is a remake. All songs are remixed. And nobody seems to have any original stories to tell.
This lack of creativity is especially felt if you are a fan of a classic genre of rock n’ roll. Whether you listen to punk or to metal, chances are that you’ve heard slight variations on The Clash or Led Zeppelin passed off as modern iterations for as long as you can remember. Isn’t anyone still trying?
Velvet Fist are a punk band, and they care about taking their collective imagination to strange new places, as can be heard on “Sci-Fi Samurai.” Part street rocker, part bizarre acid trip recollection, Velvet Fist strive for something that is not easily contained inside one subgenre. Here’s to more bands striving to be wholly original!
The Non-Nonconformists – Dogshit City
Similar artists: Iggy & The Stooges, MC5
Genre: Post-Punk, Garage Rock
The Non-Nonconformists are doing it all for classic American nihilism, and millions are out to be singing their praises.
People’s recollection of the past tends to filter out their peers who were genuinely enjoying the times. They didn’t suffer or were plagued by some kind of terrible disease of the mind that wouldn’t let them understand just how bad things were!
Perhaps this is why the musicians interested in protesting against the status or merely telling their audiences just how much of a bad time they were having are the ones now bestowed with titles a la “spokespeople for a generation.”
Take The Stooges, for example. Only a select few paid them any mind. The people who liked The Stogees didn’t much like their lives and were impressed by someone writing songs about these very things. The people who hated the world and liked The Stooges have been telling people about what that was like for decades.
But pure American nihilism risks falling by the wayside. Luckily, The Non-Nonconformists are here to save the day for miserabilism with “Dogshit City.” This does not sound like music made by people looking to sell records or get clicks. It doesn’t sound like music made by people who make eye contact with their neighbours or say “hello.” We miss these sorts of rock music. Those were the days!
