Traitrs – i was ill, you were wrong
Imagine this: You get all of the coins out of your pocket, you count them all to make sure that you have enough, and you walk the long walk to your favourite store. Once you get there, you say “hello” to the guy or gal you’ve talked to a million times before, and you ask for your favourite while rubbing your hands together.
You’re served your favourite, you say “thank you!” and as you take the first sip or bite, you realize something’s off. You figure out that the formula has changed. Naturally, you ask why this has happened, and the store clerk just tells you that the company is testing out something different.
How angry are you on a scale of 1 to 10? And will you show your anger, file a complaint, write a bad Google review, or just give the company that you previously trusted the benefit of the doubt?
Some bands find themselves playing the role of the company delivering the product that many fans anxiously await. Most bands don’t want to disappoint their fans, of course, and don’t want to end up as the “bad guys” who changed the recipe, and this is something that Traitrs understand.
The fact of the matter is that Traitrs could go on playing just about any place in the world where gothic-rock, dark wave, and post-punk music is favored on the strength of the well-designed and nicely produced “i was ill, you were wrong.” The formula is familiar and works. And while lyrics about being angry, and wiping tears off in the rain could, perhaps, include a bit more specificity, Traitrs aren’t going to be the “bad guys” turning fans away from what they’ve shown before that they enjoy.
Alex Okami – Holy Water
Did you ever tape ballet lessons as a kid? Did your parents pay so that some old lady with a Russian accent could teach you how to play piano standing up straight? If so, I bet you don’t hate your mom and dad for it. I’m pretty certain that you don’t write angry letters come the holidays, asking that they compensate you for all the hours of therapy that this has put you through.
However, if the same parents dragged you to church or made you take part in spiritual exercises of any sort, there’s a good reason that you nurture resentment. Need proof? Just dive into the creations of many heavy metal or punk bands. It’s there. You can also find it in Alex Okami’s icy synth-goth.
But what exactly is the problem? Maybe it’s the fact that religion promises that you’ll get saved…eventually. However, most organized religions worry very little about how the people they’re going to help get saved are doing while climbing up that hill.
Now free from adult supervision, other than that of his own, Alex Okami analyzes the past and tries to reason with the belief system instilled as a child in “Holy Water.” Religious hypocrisy is one of the favourite topics of gothic-rock and dark wave. This, together with music built on a steady baritone on danceable electronic beats, should make it a treat for fans of the genre.
