Me & Munich – Out of luck
Genre: Grunge
The genres and the musical movements that actually get to take over the world for a minute are the ones that are able to cut through the clutter. And, the more that we advance through pop music’s history, the more junk there is to swim through. With such a wide variety of art and entertainment being, and with so many ways to listen in on everything that is being created, zooming in on the essentials and being accepted by a large audience becomes more and more difficult.
One of the last groups of bands that we were able to achieve this was labeled grunge. The groups in question may have hated the label that had been attached to them. And truthfully, apart from the fact that many of them shared the same town of origin, they had little in common sonically. What all of these groups that made it big did possess was an ability to look at pop and classic rock and disguise it as artsy punk rock.
Me & Munich’s Out of luck are a group of noise Danes that can’t disguise the pop tones of their grunge music. This is a band that perfectly understands the need for dynamics, memorable riffs, and vocals that can be heard over the car’s motor. Me & Munich are artsy noise-makers, but the foundation of their tunes lies within radio-friendly pop singles.
Tide Bends – Pace Yourself
Genre: Shoegaze, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock
It may sound like a crazy concept nowadays, but there was a time, and only briefly, when enough weirdos with guitars had the attention of the world that they could do practically what they liked with record labels unwilling or incapable of intervening. Sure, this is only a pipe dream. And, yes, the domination of art over commerce never lasts long. However, it’s enough to inspire wide-eyed young artists today.
Weirdos have been able to infiltrate the company ranks at various times throughout pop’s history. Never was this more present than in the late 1960s. People looked at hippies with both fear and expectation, not knowing if this was to be the revolution that would change the Western world. Youth leaders like The Beatles and The Stones not only dressed in funny, colorful clothes but talked about the power of music to affect social change. And through this, other groups sharing a similar taste in fashion and chemical refreshments began releasing their records with the support of major labels.
It’s enough to make a young hippie dream! Tide Bends’ Pace Yourself reveals itself as a bohemian anthem, a song untouched by the dirty fingers of commerce. It’s also a tune that uses the verse-chorus format as an excuse to explore the outer regions of the genre happily. There are some that still believe in making art for art’s sake.
