Strange Gods – Less Than Zero
Just like tales of human suffering, or stories of great heroic deeds, the blues gets retold with each passing generation. The blues itself is, essentially, a simple, clever, simple musical formula that gets to the heart of most people’s woes.
Similar to the advancements in technology, human aspirations, or killer viruses, so the humble musical form change over time. Interestingly, although, perhaps not surprisingly, harder-edged rock music, has embraced the blues more than any other popular style of music.
Modern screamo, post-hardcore, and the newer tendencies in metal are, for the most part, a modernized, amplified, technically versatile version of the blues. Strange Gods’ Less than zero shows a band playing on the very edge, both sonically and emotionally. It’s a musical vision that fully embraces feelings of emptiness, only to shout them back out. The dynamics and writing show a band willing to develop their craft.
Traipse – Colours
I’ve had people shouting very inventive cuss words at me throughout the years for wearing the wrong kind of clothes in the wrong kind of neighborhood. I’ve heard people saying they’ve occasionally received a beating for it too.
Those things happen, of course, and the world is a worse place for it. However, it’s nothing compared to the great primitive bloodbath you’ll find on the internet. Here, people that haphazardly align themselves with a cause or other will often summon all their strength in a bid to insult those on the other side of the fence. If there are no enemies to fight against, they’ll invent some. And, usually, their hatred does not stop at mere name-calling. It’s tribalism for a world where the majority of people will never feel like they belong.
It’s a pretty grim reality and one that requires a special kind of sonic aggression to best be described. Traipse’s Colours cleverly finds just the right dynamics for this. The song is a mixture of alternative-rock riffs and post-punk madness that, like the psyche of the people described in the aforementioned paragraph, feels totally wired and on edge. It’s a strong, aggressive and well put together sound that might just answer the question, “Where should grunge have really headed towards next?”
