Dominick Fields – Imitations End
Similar artists: The Beatles, Ben Folds, The Strokes, Day Glow
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop
There’s no denying the fact music from the mid-1960s sounds positively joyful and innocent. Try as you might; you can’t quite forget that. Those beautiful melodies have to lie on a sturdy surface of optimism.
Audiences often complain about the fact that the bands making those records never returned to that sound again. How could they? They were hardly the same people and wouldn’t have been able to copy themselves if they wanted.
Take The Beatles, for example, the premier pop merchants of the 1960s. By the time they broke up, McCartney was suing his former bandmates, Lennon had taken up political folk with disastrous results, Harrison seemed bitter of the whole 1960s, and Starr had taken up acting to keep the lights on. Optimism was not exactly overflowing.
Cherish Dominick Fields’ Imitations End because it is infused not only with gorgeous vocal melodies but with something that most artists usually lost very quickly, namely cheeriness. If there are any dark clouds around, they’re tucked around nicely, and not even the lyrics about wasting time seem to have the bite of disillusionment.
The Ability – You Change Back
Similar artists: Foals, Incubus, Minus The Bear, Thrice, Brand New
Genre: Alternative Rock
Nihilism has never been more popular in Western societies than it is today. In fact, some would argue that the Western world is obsessed with killing itself far more than with dreaming of a better tomorrow.
How should artists react to this realization? Well, they could choose the route that most walk down and opt just to get by and see how it all fares out. They could try and take advantage of their opportunities and improve their financial standing.
Or, if, indeed, the world is obsessed with how pointless things have become, artists can look for a purpose that can transcribe the confusion of the world into a work of art. There’s no reason to fret over such things anymore unless it is to make something beautiful or to help yourself get through the day.
The Ability’s You Change Back sounds like a tune made by people who’ve spent a good chunk of their life alone in their room with their music and their thoughts. It’s hard to imagine that there’s any plan for commercial acceptability here. On the other hand, the band’s endless seeking seems to have brought them some answers. That’s where you, the audience, can step in.