Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show – Golden One Ball
Genre: Punk, Pop Punk, Hard Rock
Similar artists: Coheed & Cambria, Rise Against, Rx Bandits, The Menzingers, Paramore
My theory is that modern music is written either about ways to deal with pain and discomfort or about methods to avoid it. The latter category makes room for music celebrating hedonism of all kinds. It’s written by the kind of people that like to look as if they haven’t sweated a day in their lives.
Music that is about discomfort is much interesting, frankly, as most critics will gladly tell you. Still, the best bunch of songs dealing with pain are the ones that use a “smile and get through it” strategy.
Pop-punk bands are the very best at doing this. Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show’s Golden One Ball is that sort of glimmer of hope. The band operates by the idea that if they should have their own band, they might as well get the opportunity of mixing David Bowie with Paramore without batting an eye about it. It’s a strategy we salute.
Twin Dive – YGI
Genre: Grunge, Post-grunge
Similar artists: Nirvana, Oasis, Queens of the Stone Age
If you’re of a certain age and living outside of the rock capital of the world, chances are that you’ve never seen U2, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, or even Nirvana live. You didn’t get to wear a Nevermind shirt just as the album was becoming a bonafide global phenomenon.
Why is it then that so many people are obsessed with those artists, especially those that made their name in the 1990s under the banner of grunge rock? For the most part, it’s because those musicians seem relatable and, so, it is natural to try and assume what it must have felt like to be on those large stages, playing punk music to thousands.
Norway’s Twin Dive sounds like they’ve pondered that question. YGI seems the kind of tune written after a particularly long drive to the studio where the only music allowed to be played in the car where the only music admitted in the car was that by 90s Seattle artists. Some people had their Elvis, and if we didn’t we can still dream of ours.
