The Tin Can Collective – The Thrill Is Gone
There’s someone who, at this very moment, is sharpening their pen and tuning their guitar and getting ready to write a song called “Stairway to Heaven.” No, not that one. Not a song that mentions ladies stuck on glittering objects and gigantic guitar solos. Not a song that seems to go on forever, and that could be covered by just about any band trying to land a gig at a high-school dance.
Nah, they’re doing it in an entirely different way, using the grain of the idea and erasing every element that you could easily recognise from the Led Zeppelin classic.
And while we wait for this, The Tin Can Collective have done the next best thing, taken the title of a B.B. King blues classic and erased B.B. and the blues from it. The result is magnificent!
That’s because “The Thrill is Gone” imagined by The Tin Can Collective is, essentially, a long, hard sigh in punk-rock form. The band plays around with small ideas blown up by truthful, powerful emotions to a frightening scale. It’s a children’s balloon transformed into a roaring dinosaur. It’s got soul, and there’s no messing around with that!
LowDown Brass Band – Echoes of a Photo
How do you know a punk band when you hear it? Do you actually listen with your eyes and scan photos of the group members to see if they’re sporting leather jackets and mohawks? If those are in fashion, even the modern pop princess will be wearing those this year.
Or, do you, perhaps, listen for musical queues such as loud, distorted guitars playing power chords and lyrics about the government trying to screw you over? Frankly, that’s 90% of rock bands in all styles right there.
Perhaps punk-rock is finally ready to mean something different. Enough punks have developed a real love affair with their instruments. Groups like LowDown Brass Band have come to love the potential of strong arrangements, blending of styles, and, well, musical complexity.
LowDown Brass Band’s “Echoes of a Photo” sounds like the demo recording sent to festival organisers for the next Summer season. And, frankly, a bid like this ought to be successful. The band takes some inspiration from the ska-punk sounds of old, brushes against topics related to authenticity, but, most importantly, delivers a big, hip-hop-inspired sound that deserves to be played in a field, in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd.
