Bernardo – Almost A Mother
The trouble with alternative-rock at the time that it reached its commercial peak was that, like all other styles, it began to favour its more extreme elements. Of course, hearing Layne Staley and Chris Cornell’s ear-shattering vocals was a treat.
However, playing those sorts of career-defining hits non-stop took away from the soul that stood at the very base of the style. The quality of singing and the warm manner of dealing with difficult subject matter often risked being pushed to the sidelines.
One of the artists that redeem alt-rock’s reputation in this regard is U.K. singer Bernardo. The soulful, mysterious performance on Almost a mother shows that the artist has the capacity to go to the very depths of the subject she is tackling. Almost a mother is a tender and thoughtful alt-rock tune with jazz and dream-pop flavours.
The Left Backs – The Feeling
It is amazing how lite weight some great alternative-rock songs can sound like. Yes, there are tunes written in recent decades that have ended being dissected in schools of higher learning or through complex YouTube videos.
For the most part, though, the great guitar singles that many of us are so eager and many artists wish to produce are created using very simple elements. It certainly doesn’t hurt if you have a distorted vocal tone that can carry the song. Catchy melodies, nice guitar sounds, and a tight rhythm section also help.
The Left Backs are one of the groups that have not just stumbled upon the recipe but have been able to master it quickly. The success they’ve enjoyed is not surprising. While many would claim that “rock is dead” there are, clearly, so many listeners looking for a new version of Nirvana and the Stroker. The Left Backs have the right attitude and sound. They may still be a tad light on depth their efforts show great promise.
