The Backburner – Kaguya
Similar artists: Johnny Cash, UFO
Genre: Folk rock, Classic Rock
Getting sick of hearing classic folk and rock artists may be possible. After all, depending on where you get your music from, you may conclude that they are overplayed. However, while acting in good faith, it is difficult to claim that, honestly, many of those artists were not very good to begin with.
So many country, rock and folk songs have been written with the intention of catching our attention and getting distributed to the radio that the likelihood of a few lame ducks slipping in there is almost null. Getting those sounds, however, to feel fresh nowadays or using them to build something modern-sounding is quite a tall order.
The Backburner’s “Kaguya” is the unlikely meeting point of country storytelling and classic rock heroics, a mix of Johnny Cash and Michael Schenker’s burning guitar lines. Against all odds, it’s a perfect mix. After all, isn’t what we expect from songwriting ways to hear old stories told in a new way? If you agree, then you may also come to the conclusion that The Backburner’s interpretation of classic rock brings a fresh perspective to things.
Old Shoe – Gets to You
Similar artists: Phish, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Mr.Blotto
Genre: Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Back in the 1970s, the progressive and jam bands were treating their rock n’ roll as some kind of esoteric art that was going to reveal to them the secrets of the universe. They took all the time in the world to become conduits of that information. And their legions of fans sacrificed the exact same amount of time. Grateful Dead concerts were known to last longer than some pop stars’ careers.
Supposing that they did find the occult truths they were seeking and managed to glance into the distant future, Jon Anderson & co. would be shocked. Instead of vinyl double albums that featured only four songs about oceans, people in the future would digitally lease their music. Instead of 30-minute songs featuring 15-minute guitar solos, pop musicians would be making 90-second songs designed to feed social media algorithms.
It’s good to take your time once in a while. This is what Old Shoe do on “Gets to You,” a recording that is imbued with the warmth of classic rock studio albums. Like the jam bands that they admire, Old Shoe are looking to build a connection with their followers, a friendship created by lengthy, hypnotic rock jams. “Gets to You” is an attempt to distinguish art from disposable digital jingles.