
Second Player Score – That Escalated Quickly
“If you liked this you might also enjoy…” is the phrase that has substituted the loyal but snobby music-store employee. Sure, Spotify could recommend 10 more bands that sound like Bad Religion. But can they really complain for 30 minutes about how Green Day ruined punk-rock?
So, while reading this, picture me pitching you this band with all the enthusiasm of a modern inventor that has stumbled on an idea that may revolutionize the world. “This band is the missing link between the Offspring and Millencolin. Their riffs are totally sweet. You gotta hear them“. You’ll nod politely, of course, and buy the record intimidated by what must surely be my accumulated knowledge of pop-punk.
Well, the one good thing about streaming platforms is that you can try and try, and possibly, never buy. But you should, Second Player Score do sound like those bands, and not just like cheap knockoffs either. They also seem nice and, when live shows return, they sound like they could be a lot of fun.
The Elf-Pirate – I Really Hate Humans
There’s no shortage of comedy-rock out there. Still, landing the right joke is about as difficult as writing the perfect pop tune. The Elf-Pirate is determined to try and do them both, and, judging by the name, is determined that you don’t even consider taking the work seriously.
While many comedic songs exist, and a small industry has been built around this sort of style, there’s a growing deficit of tunes about being disappointed with humanity and, really, rather seeing it replaced. Sure, this is subject-matter comfortably approached in metal songs, but nothing nearly as palatable as this folk-rock number.
The Norwegian pirate actually hits upon some hard truths about the evil nature of humans while delivering his message with tongue firmly-in-cheek. “They rape and they molest and touch without request“. No recent protest song has contained quite so much truth. There’s not a great focus that this pirate-rock bard places on singing, but that’s fine. He is a misanthropic clown poet and this and what he brings to the table is more than enough.