Compass & Cavern – Puppies (Smile Back)
The next big guitar hit is just around the corner, and it could well be written by… you. Naturally, you’d like that and are just reaching around for your six-string and tuner. Now, I wasn’t lying about the world being in, waiting for this kind of music. But, I didn’t say you’d be alone in chasing this kind of fortune.
On your way to the top, you will surely find opportunists who’ve just traded their heavy metal gear, or their reggae attire, in hopes of jumping on a faster bandwagon. You’ll also meet some friends of friends of music industry heavyweights looking to trade on their relations. And, worse of all, you may encounter people like Will and Chris, the folks behind Compass & Cavern.
Now, Will and Chris have genuine talent and a knack for this catchy guitar thing. Puppies (Smile Back), their ode to punk group PUP, is difficult to ignore if you’re covering music, and even more difficult to follow it up if you’re playing music. A mash of potent melodies, exuberance-inducing guitars, and a sprinkling of theatricality make them the band to beat on anyone’s way to the top of the charts.
The Flashpot Moments – Alison / Allison
The rock musical equivalent to the handsome Quarterback is someone capable of doing a good job of writing, singing, performing, and presenting themselves before an audience. As Billy Joel once said, you don’t really need to be a genius in any of those departments. However, the supply of folks capable of doing all of those, or throwing a ball straight for a long distance, is so short that you are bound to stand out.
Now, the people that are capable of this have most likely acquired their ability through a lot of hard work and the unforgiving talent of the genetic lottery. It makes us love and hate these folks. Talent is not bestowed on the people with the most admirable personal traits. Otherwise, Chumbawamba would have written their second hit single a long time ago.
There’s no way around the fact that The Flashpot Moments’s Alison / Allison is a pure power-pop jewel of a song. The real challenge in making one of these is to make it sound effortless, as it was written in one spur of inspiration. The beautiful melodies, a clean-cut production, and a mighty voice that sounds as if it was perfected by singing the early Elvis Costello records endlessly make this a great tune. The fact that it references one of Mr Costello’s most famous songs will also, surely, rub the bellies of music nerds everywhere.
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